KALAN:CAFE ROBBER CAGED FOR FOUR YEARS

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A Kurdish refugee who was part of a gang that held up a cafe at knifepoint has been jailed for four years.

Zafer Kalan, 24, fled his native Turkey to come to Britain after undergoing torture as a political prisoner that left him without the use of his right hand.

But he was arrested in June last year after police traced him through DNA left on a glass at the scene of the robbery in the Pizza King kebab house on Hertford Road, Edmonton.

Alison Barker, prosecuting, said that Kalan had gone into the cafe on March 3 last year and was drinking tea when he received a call on his mobile.

‘The owner heard him say ‘Father, I am coming’.

‘This was clearly a codeword or message, because almost immediately, four other males entered the premises, one armed with a knife that he put to the throat of the owner.

‘They wanted to break into the gaming machine and, with the knife at his throat, he handed over the keys.

‘The defendant took the keys and opened the safe.’

The gang stole a total of around £1,500 from the cafe, including £200 from the owner and £250 from another customer.

Kalan was traced from DNA left on the glass he had drunk tea from, and picked out in an identity parade in July last year.

Patrick Maggs, for Kalan, said that his client was suffering from mild to moderate post traumatic stress disorder, following the persecution that led to him becoming a refugee.

Kalan, who speaks little English and used an interpreter in court, was granted indefinite leave to remain in the UK after arriving as a refugee.

Mr Maggs said: ‘He had little to no formal education in Turkey, no more than five years.

‘Arriving in this country, he was initially unable to work by way of his status, and when able to work was hindered by that lack of education and his lack of ability in the native language.

‘He fell into a small community where his vulnerability has been recognised and exploited. He got into this robbery as a result of that.’

At the time of the robbery, Kalan was out on bail after being charged with assaulting Ismail Kaya at knifepoint outside a bar on Stoke Newington Road on February 6 last year.

Mr Kaya, who had been to a wedding reception, was punched by Kalan, who then produced a knife when Mr Kaya refused to hand over his camera.

At Snaresbrook Crown Court, Kalan was sentenced to six months in prison for carrying the knife, and four months in prison for common assault, both to run concurrently to his four year sentence for the robbery.

The judge Mr Recorder James Dawson QC said: ‘You have been up until now, a man of good character, but you pleaded guilty to three offences, one of which is extremely serious.’

Kalan, of no fixed address, admitted robbery, assault, and possession of a knife.
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