Three men have been convicted for a "horrific" plot to rob a brothel, which saw two women threatened with a knife and an axe before they were raped.

David Fonseca, 27, Adilson Mendes-Namdja-Uare, 23, Edmilson Caimanque, 23, stormed their way into a Stoke Newington basement flat at about 11pm on June 12, 2019.

They threatened two women inside with a knife and an axe, before binding their wrists and feet with tape and placing bags over their heads.

Fonseca then raped one of the women and Caimanque raped both of them, before the trio fled with £1,250 in cash and a mobile phone.

They also made off with the building’s CCTV system.

The victims had advertised their services on an adult work classified ads website.

Following a trial at Wood Green Crown Court which concluded on Friday (February 12), Fonseca, of Forest Gate, Caimanque, of East Ham, and Mendes-Namdja-Uare, of Forest Gate, were all convicted of robbery.

Fonseca was also convicted of raping one of the women, and Caimanque was convicted of raping them both.

Police were alerted to the crime by a nurse at a sexual health clinic attended by one of the victims the day following the offence.

Oliva Ball, from the Crown Prosecution Service, said: “This was a terrifying ordeal for the victims.

“The prosecution case included DNA evidence from the condoms that Caimanque and Fonseca had left behind.

"Fingerprints from these defendants were also found to match fingerprints on bags left at the scene, contradicting the defence claim that Caimanque and Fonseca had partaken in consensual sex for which they had paid.

“Despite the attackers taking the building’s CCTV system, the prosecution was able to show that all three defendants were in the area at the time of the incident by piecing together CCTV from other cameras in the vicinity.

“Sexual offences can have a devastating impact and it is important that victims have the confidence to report crimes and see their attackers face justice.”

Sentencing will take place at a later date.