Man sentenced to 12 years in jail following a series of armed robberies in supermarkets across Rochdale in 2021

Photo: Greater Manchester Police

Sean Zaffer Traynor

A Rochdale man has been sentenced to 12 years in prison after carrying out a string of armed robberies in 2021.

Sean Zaffer Traynor was sentenced yesterday (Monday 5 December) to a total of 12 years for six counts of business robberies and six counts of possession of a bladed article.

Traynor robbed a number of commercial supermarkets between November and December 2021 and threatened staff with a knife in order to gain cash and scratch cards from behind the tills. 

The first offence took place at Morrisons in Rochdale at around 7pm on 13 November 2021 where Traynor entered the store and threatened staff with a hatchet and then proceeded to steal cash and grab scratch cards from behind the tills.

The robberies continued until December 2021 across Rochdale and left staff who were working in the stores at the time extremely shaken up by the events. The amount stolen from the various stores resulted in over £2,000 in losses.

Detective Constable Elizabeth Stacey, from GMP's Rochdale’s Crime Investigation Department, said: "This was a series of terrifying robberies that saw staff members and shoppers scared for their lives - some are still recovering from the ordeal.

"The staff were members of the public and were threatened with a weapon, they were simply doing their jobs serving the public in their local supermarkets.

“The team worked hard to put together various pieces of evidence through CCTV footage and witness statements in order to build a timeline of events which would be strong enough to be able to charge Traynor with the offences.

“The sentencing yesterday showcases the lengths we take to conclude an investigation and shows that no matter how organised or sophisticated the group or individual may be, we will thoroughly investigate and put offenders in jail for a long time.”

Force lead for robbery, Superintendent Ian Jones said: “Officers across the force are committed to tackling this type of offence, there is an unwavering dedication seen force wide by officers and those on investigation teams to remove dangerous individuals who commit armed robberies from our community.

“Luckily no one was injured during robberies, but staff members were left understandably shaken up and fearing for their lives after being threatened with weapons. 

“Officers across the force are dedicated to keeping people safe and will go to extreme efforts to ensure that Greater Manchester is not a safe haven for criminals.”