Deporation for gang member who targeted cashpoints
NEROCUA Colombian man who was part of a gang which stole £64,000 from older people withdrawing cash has been deported.
Along with his associates, Armet Cortes would linger around cash machines and banks before selecting vulnerable victims, such as lone women.
Having targeted 14 people in locations including Sunderland, Newcastle and Hexham, he pleaded guilty to conspiracy to steal and was jailed in September 2025 for three years and eight months.
The Home Office said the deportation showed the government's commitment to tackling High Street crime.
Newcastle Crown Court heard the gang would distract and disorientate their victims and were prepared to use intimidation and force to get money from them.
'Clear message'
As well as North-East England, they also operated in Scarborough and London.
One woman had £15,000 taken when the gang scattered coins on the ground and asked if they were hers.
The gang looked for people "discreetly taking out large amounts of cash", then used "silent, skilled and subtle signs" to gesture to each other about the victim they had identified.
The Home Office said on another occasion the gang waited inside a bank while a woman withdrew £10,000.
She was then followed home on a bus, where one of the gang members faked a fall and injury.
When the woman stopped to help, the gang entered her property and stole the bag containing the cash.
Another victim had to delay her retirement and return to work because of the financial loss, according to the Home Office.
Anna Turley, Minister of State for Border Security and Asylum, said Cortes's deporation "sends a clear message - anyone attempting to cash in on our hospitality will be given a one-way ticket out of the UK".
Cortes's fellow gang member Willmer Guzman, also a Colombian national, was deported earlier this year, the Home Office said.
Guzman was also serving a prison term of three years and eight months having admitted the same charge of conspiracy to steal.
