Murdered fraudster jailed in UK for violent crime spree before entering NZ

The convicted fraudster deported from New Zealand before being fatally stabbed in London was previously jailed in Britain as part of a notorious gang linked to robberies and violent offending.

Reece Salmon, 28, died after he was stabbed multiple times in Clerkenwell, north London, on September 16. Metropolitan Police said no arrests have been made and inquiries are ongoing.

The Herald revealed this week that Salmon was recently deported after serving part of a four-year prison sentence for his role in a scam that defrauded elderly New Zealanders of more than $400,000 in cash and gold.

The Daily Mail reported Salmon was also jailed in Britain in 2019 after being convicted of conspiracy to commit robbery linked to the so-called Easy Cash Gang, also known as EC1.

The group operated in the Islington area of London and was linked to a series of robberies and phone-snatching offences.

Reece Salmon has died aged 28 after a stabbing in central London last week. Photo / Metropolitan Police

According to the Daily Mail, Salmon was sentenced to three years and nine months’ imprisonment after pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit robbery for offences across Camden, Islington, Westminster and the City of London.

Salmon was one of six gang members jailed for a combined 30 years, according to the outlet.

The group was linked to a two-month crime spree in central London in 2018 that targeted high-end jewellery and fashion stores, with members armed with weapons including axes, samurai swords and knives.

At his sentencing in New Zealand last year, Wellington District Court Judge John Walker noted Salmon’s history of associating with criminal groups and warned he faced a choice when he returned to Britain following his eventual deportation.

“You have the ability to decide on your return to the UK whether you will continue with that type of connection or separate yourself and concentrate on your partner and child,” the judge said.

Salmon was granted parole in February and deported on May 25.

Reece Alexander Salmon, 27, appeared in the Wellington District Court in May last year for sentencing on defrauding multiple elderly victims. Photo / Melissa Nightingale

Before his New Zealand sentencing, Salmon admitted 15 charges of obtaining by deception and two charges of attempting to obtain by deception.

He was part of a UK criminal operation that targeted elderly New Zealanders by posing as police officers and persuading victims to hand over cash and gold bullion as part of a fictitious undercover investigation.

New Zealand Police said Salmon acted as a courier, collecting money and gold from victims aged between 69 and 95 in the Wellington region.

It is unclear whether Immigration New Zealand was aware of Salmon’s reported 2019 prison sentence when he entered New Zealand.

Immigration New Zealand has been approached for comment.