Four men have been jailed for a combined 50 years after a violent knife robbery at a cannabis farm in a home in Strood, Kent.

Tyrone Harris, Khyrie Hylton, Elliott Bonney and Sion Williams were sentenced at Maidstone Crown Court on Friday, 30 October 2026, after being found guilty of robbery following a trial. The sentences were reported on Tuesday, 10 November.

What happened in Weston Road

Kent Police received a call at 2.38am on Tuesday, 25 November 2025, reporting a disturbance at a house in Weston Road, Strood. Four men were seen carrying cannabis plants to a waiting BMW car and a van before leaving.

The victim told officers the men broke into his home while he was asleep, threatened him with a knife and then attacked him, leaving him seriously injured. He was treated at a London hospital for facial injuries and a fractured wrist.

Police said the men ransacked the house in search of what they believed to be cannabis plants, before loading them into the van. Officers also found a trail of cannabis plants and soil along Weston Road.

Caught within an hour

Patrols attended the area and, within minutes, identified a suspicious grey BMW travelling along Watling Street in Rochester. Officers also became suspicious of a van that appeared to be driving in convoy with it.

After about 12 miles the vehicles split up. Officers followed the BMW, which was boxed in by patrols shortly after passing through the Blackwall Tunnel. Harris, Bonney and Williams were arrested at the scene.

Other officers followed the van as it continued into London, also travelling through the Blackwall Tunnel. Officers stopped the van at a red light, but Hylton tried to run off on foot before being detained. All four men were arrested by 3.24am, and a search of the vehicles found several cannabis plants.

The evidence against them

Police seized the suspects' mobile phones and found messages showing them planning the robbery. In one message, Harris said he needed "as many soldiers as possible".

CCTV footage captured both vehicles travelling to the house and spending several minutes moving bags and large plants between the address and the vehicles. Officers also seized clothing belonging to the men, and the victim's blood was later found on some of the items.

The sentences

Harris, 36, of Lansdowne Drive, Hackney, was jailed for 14 years. Williams, 38, who has no fixed address, was jailed for 13 years. Hylton, 35, who has no fixed address, was jailed for 12 years. Bonney, 35, of Albion Drive, Hackney, was jailed for 11 years.

Investigating officer Detective Constable Emma Laimbeer said: "This was a meticulously planned robbery in which a group of men targeted a vulnerable victim in his own home and subjected him to a frightening and violent ordeal."

She added: "Thanks to the immediate response of patrol officers, all four offenders were caught red handed with the spoils of the robbery."

Detective Constable Laimbeer said the investigation involved examining CCTV footage, mobile phone data, forensic evidence and witness accounts to build an overwhelming case, and that the sentences showed those who commit violent offences in Kent "can expect to be identified, arrested and brought before the courts".

Cannabis and the law

Cannabis is a Class B drug under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971. Growers of illegal cannabis are sometimes targeted by other criminals, who steal plants knowing the occupants are unlikely to report the theft. In this case the robbery was reported and prosecuted as a violent offence against the occupant.

Hello Rayo and UK Cannabis Report reported the sentencing, both citing Kent Police.