The English village of Bawdsey, with its idyllic cottages and local Parish Council building, seemed sleepy and calm enough. But last month it became a flashpoint in a growing cybercrime conflict that has left the keyboards and brightly lit screens of Telegram chat groups and bled over into physical violence.
A gang of four 16 and 17 year old teenagers dressed in all-black hoodies, sweatpants, coats, and beanies traveled from London to Bawdsey. In the early morning armed with a mix of imitation firearms and real weapons, the group allegedly entered a house and threatened the people inside. The gang then stole multiple watches and a computer before escaping, leaving the house’s occupants shaken.
At 8:30am someone called the police who then responded to the burgled house. Shortly after at 8:45am, police stopped the four boys in a taxi in Alderton, another nearby village. Outside the local pub’s yellow facade police cornered their suspects, before arresting them and taking them off to be questioned.