Thieves who tried to tunnel into jewellery shop jailed after foiled heist
Three men, including one with an address in Portadown, who tried to burgle a jewellery shop by tunnelling their way in from a massage parlour next door have been jailed for a combined total of 10 years and two months.
Ioan Asafeti, Laurentiu-Daniel Nitisoara and Sergiu Plastin, the latter with a Portadown address, were part of an organised crime group linked to a series of burglaries worth more than £700,000, the Metropolitan Police said.
Officers were called to reports of a suspected burglary in Mitcham Road, Tooting, south London, in the early hours of July 17.
Nitisoara, 38, was immediately arrested in a nearby alleyway, with body-worn footage of the police’s arrival showing him walking towards them with his hands raised.
The footage showed police discovering a hole in the wall of what appears to be a shower room inside the massage parlour.
They also found bags of tools and equipment used to dig the hole.
In the footage, an officer can be heard saying: “They’ve been trying to get through the wall into the jewellers, but it doesn’t appear they’ve managed to get in.”
“There are loads of tools in here, so we’re going to need someone to come in and deal with this,” he added.
The video then shows 39-year-old Asafeti being helped down the side of a building after officers found him hiding on a rooftop. He was arrested and led away by police.
Footage of the destroyed wall shows bricks and debris surrounding the carved-out hole, with an officer commenting: “That’s pretty purposeful, isn’t it?”
Plastin was arrested at Stansted Airport later on July 17 as he tried to flee to Ireland.
The Met’s Flying Squad identified a car linked to the group and used mobile phone data to track down the 42-year-old.
Footage shows him being led through the airport and into a waiting unmarked police car outside.
The investigation linked the group to several burglaries across London between May and July, with police adding the men mainly targeted jewellers, tunnelling into shops overnight to get around security systems.
Police gathered CCTV footage which showed members of the group obtaining tools and other equipment used in the foiled burglary.
Inquiries through Interpol revealed the group may be linked to similar offences in Europe, the force added.
Detective Chief Inspector Craig Magee, from the Met’s Flying Squad, said: “Today’s sentencing sends a clear message: if you target London businesses, we’ll catch you and you will face justice.
“Our crackdown on thieves is delivering results. We’re driving down commercial burglary across the capital, with offences falling by 11% in the past 12 months.
“The arrests of these three thieves didn’t just stop this burglary. They formed part of a wider Flying Squad investigation that uncovered an organised crime group.”
At Kingston Crown Court in August, the three men pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit burglary with intent to steal and cause criminal damage.
They were jailed at the same court on Friday.
Asafeti, of no fixed address, was sentenced to four years and 10 months, Plastin, of Portadown, Co Armagh, was sentenced to three years and four months and Nitisoara, of no fixed address, was sentenced to two years.