ANDREW Miles didn’t think twice when someone knocked and called out that they had a food delivery for him.
But seconds after opening his door to a man in a bright orange Just Eat uniform, he and his son had a knife held to their throats – and a trio of attackers started to ransack their flat.
Universal News & SportA fake takeaway delivery rider in Shoreditch, London, when he was stopped by police and found to be carrying cannabis and cash[/caption]
Andrew Miles, 60, opened the door to what he thought was a food delivery – but they ended up attacking him in his own flat in South East LondonDarren Fletcher
Metropolitan PoliceLathaniel Burrel, 16, was shot dead by someone dressed in a Just Eats jacket in Stockwell, London[/caption]
“We hadn’t ordered any food, and we stupidly opened the door and they steamed in,” Andrew, 60, recalled
“I was trying to stop them from getting in the flat. One of them went into my son’s room and grabbed his phone, so he couldn’t call the police.”
Behind the man in the delivery uniform were two other attackers when they attacked in February last year.
Andrew think they had mistakenly believed there were drugs stashed in his flat in Sydenham Hill, South London.
“They forced us into the living room, where they held us at knife point,” said Andrew.
“They had a huge knife, like a carving knife. They held it next to my son’s throat as well.”
Now, The Sun can reveal how drug dealers are using food delivery uniforms bought for cheap online as cover to carry out their illegal business.
Just two weeks ago, 16-year-old Lathaniel Burrell was shot dead by a moped-riding attacker wearing a bright orange Just Eat jacket in Stockwell, South London.
The gunman carried out the hit in a matter of seconds before speeding off into the city – blending in with the tens of thousands of food delivery drivers estimated to work in London alone.
A police manhunt is currently underway for the suspect.
Disguises for sale
For Andrew, the terrifying home invasion continued even after the attackers realised they had targeted the wrong flat.
Although they didn’t find the drugs they were looking for, they then decided to steal what they could, snatching anything that looked valuable.
“They were ransacking the flat, to try and find drugs,” he says.
“It lasted for about 20 minutes, but after 15 minutes, they worked out there weren’t any drugs. So they were trying to steal things that were valuable.
Thankfully, Andrew had been on the phone to his bank when the attackers first entered. Hearing the disturbance, the operator was able to call the police.
Unfortunately, however, when the trio became aware that cops had arrived on the scene, they escaped out the balcony, breaking a neighbour’s satellite dish in the process.
Despite leaving a crash helmet at the scene, no one has yet been arrested.
SuppliedHundreds of Deliveroo jackets are listed for sale on Ebay, which can be bought and worn by anyone[/caption]
SuppliedJust Eat kits – including jackets and bags – are for sale online at bargain prices[/caption]
After lockdown made any outdoor activity instantly suspicious to police, dealers and county lines gangs turned to the booming food-delivery industry for inspiration – and found the tactic worked so well they never stopped doing it.
“It’s one of the most common ways of delivering drugs now. It’s just less hassle,” said Lennox Rodgers, ex-gang member and founder and CEO of The Refocus Project, a crime-prevention charity that works on the ground with young people at risk.
“The gangs have had to get with the times, and be a bit more sophisticated to avoid detection because it was costing them a lot of money.
“Posing as a delivery driver is such an easy way of disguising yourself, and you’re less likely to be stopped and searched, it seems a win-win for them.”
It’s absolutely a tactic that’s being encouraged among drug runners
Lennox Rodgers
A search online for “Deliveroo uniform” brings up dozens of items for sale, including many brand new uniforms and delivery bags that can be used to store drugs.
These can then be purchased and worn without any oversight from the delivery companies themselves – allowing drug dealers to instantly blend in without arising suspicions.
The full, branded uniforms are currently on sale for as little as £20 – costing a dealer less than what they’d earn in a typical cannabis deal.
Typing in “Deliveroo jacket” into eBay brings up almost 200 results, with many of the items on offer still in their original plastic packaging.
The same is also true of Just Eat-branded items.
Runners & riders
To the average member of the public, a drug dealer wearing these would look like any other food delivery rider nipping from house to house.
Even at the point of trade, few would be able to identify anything amiss – as all they would see is a “rider” reach into their bag, and hand over whatever it is to the customer waiting at the door.
Food delivery companies, however, are powerless to stop their branded uniforms being used in this way – while police resources do not stretch far enough to investigate every single food delivery rider seen out and about.
“It’s absolutely a tactic that’s being encouraged among drug runners,” said Lennox, who added that the disguise has the additional benefit of providing them with a reason for carrying cash.
A drug dealer disguising himself as a food delivery rider was arrested in Manchester after police noticed him acting suspiciouslyX/GMPCityCentre
Posting on X/Twitter, Greater Manchester Police joked that they had found “more than the Chef’s Special”X/GMPCityCentre
“I remember when police would arrest drug dealers dripping in gold, and they wouldn’t be able to say were they got their money from. I think that people have got wise to that, and they are realising that to have a cover works well for them.”
In March last year, Ahmed Mohamad, an asylum seeker, was stopped by police outside a block of student accommodation after riding at speed on an E-bike – cops then found more than £2,500 of cannabis in his Just Eats bag.
During his sentencing, Judge Simon Mills added that the fact the defendant had “disguised” himself as a delivery driver was a significant aggravating factor due to the suspicion that would be cast on legitimate staff.
In April 2024 Scottish dealer Omar Omar, who used Just Eat bags to transport drugs, was jailed for 16 months after police found more than 35 separate bags of cannabis and more than £48,000 in mixed notes at home.
And back in November 2023, Norwich gangster Robert Fuller was jailed for 12 years after buying his runners Deliveroo uniforms to distribute a £7million drug stash without police interference.
Drug menus
No clear data exists on how widespread the problem is, though experts who spoke to The Sun agreed that the problem is underreported due to how effective a disguise it is.
“From the people I’ve spoken to through my work, it certainly happens a lot more than people think it does,” said Lennox.
“No one’s going to bat an eyelid. You can ride past a police officer, they’re not going to instinctively think to stop and search that person. So they’re able to get away with it a lot.
“And the most popular times for it are going to be Thursday, Friday and Saturday, when people are winding down from a busy week – when people are going to be ordering food anyway.”
ERSOUA gang ringleader in Norwich was caught planning to distribute more than £7million worth of drugs using runners disguised in Deliveroo gear[/caption]
ERSOURobert Fuller, 50, was sent to jail for 12 years[/caption]
SuppliedRobert Fuller was busted after investigators cracked his messages on EncroChat[/caption]
This view was echoed by Steve Pope, a drugs and addiction expert based in the North West of England.
“In Blackpool, where I work, I’ve seen a lot of it,” he tells us. “It’s a cover way of moving drugs. And why should Blackpool be any different to Manchester, or London, or Liverpool? In fact, I would think it’s much more advanced there.
“Anything that gives people a reason to be out on the streets in the evening, and to get them a reason for why they’re delivering, is what works. Drug dealers use any way they can to move drugs, and the less suspicion they create, the more they retain their profits.”
In another sign of getting with the times, dealers send out online “menus” listing what they have on offer, which means that purchasing these illegal substances is now, ironically, no more complicated than actually ordering food from apps such as Deliveroo and Just Eat.
An example of the ‘drug menus’ now being offered by dealers
Gone are the days where a nervous buyer would have to text a mysterious number and meet someone down a dodgy back-alley.
“You can go online, and you’ll openly see what people are advertising, and they’ll arrange delivery too,” added Stephen.
“It takes away a lot of tension for the punter – they don’t have to worry about meeting down some shady alley because it’s literally coming straight to his door.”
Click-for-crack
Lee Fernandes, lead therapist at drug addiction treatment experts The UKAT Group, added that this new ease with which drugs can be purchased increases the number of people who would consider buying them.
“The drug market is now so digitised that you can order ketamine, crack cocaine or LSD with a few clicks on your phone,” he says.
“Ultimately, the drug dealer industry is constantly evolving and maturing and will bend itself in any which way that satisfies its customers.
“The ease with which drugs can be accessed increases the pool of potential customers. Quite simply, if the demand is there, then the supply will follow.”
SuppliedAhmed Mohamad was caught in March 2024 with more than £2,500 of cannabis in a Just Eat bag outside student accommodation in Cardiff[/caption]
Lee added that ultimately the issue will only be solved by pointing the finger at users.
He says: “As a society, we need to stop the demand to stop the supply, and one way to do this is for police to encourage adults and young people to act as their eyes and ears and comfortably and confidently report any suspicious behaviour without any negative stigma or ramifications.”
A spokesperson for Just Eat told The Sun that all couriers who sign up to their network undergo robust identity verification and right-to-work checks.
“Just Eat takes the safety of the communities we serve seriously, with zero tolerance for individuals impersonating couriers or misusing our platform to commit crime.
“If we receive reports of impersonation or any other criminal activity, we act swiftly and work closely with the authorities to protect the integrity of the app for our customers.”
A spokesperson for Deliveroo added: “We strongly condemn the use of our kit to disguise any illegal activity.
“Whilst our kit is available to purchase by riders only via our kit store and we encourage old kit to be dropped off at our dedicated points, like many goods and clothing items they can be found for purchase via other marketplaces.
“We have a dedicated team to support any police enquiries or investigations.”
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