Three men who tunnelled into a south London jewellery shop in a brazen heist were caught by Met police officers, ending a burglary spree that netted £700,000 in goods.
Laurentiu-Daniel Nitisoara, 38, and Ioan Asafeti, 39, broke into a neighbouring massage parlour before attempting to drill a hole into the jewellers on Mitcham Road in Tooting on July 17.
Caught red-handed after 3am raid
Body-worn video captured emergency response officers arriving shortly after 3am - minutes after reports of the attempted burglary. Nitisoara was arrested immediately in a nearby alleyway, while Asafeti was tracked down hiding on a rooftop.
The footage shows officers searching the massage parlour the pair had broken into, uncovering their plan to tunnel through a wall into the neighbouring shop. They also found bags of tools and equipment being used to dig the hole.
Third gang member stopped at airport
Officers arrested a third member of the group, Sergiu Plastin, later that day as he tried to flee the country on a flight from Stansted Airport to Ireland. Flying Squad detectives identified a car linked to the group and used mobile phone data to track Plastin to the airport.
An investigation led by the Met's Flying Squad linked the group to several burglaries across the capital between May and July, mainly targeting jewellers. Detectives gathered extensive CCTV footage showing members obtaining tools and other equipment used in the offences, while enquiries through Interpol revealed possible links to similar offences in Europe.
Guilty pleas and sentencing
On Friday the men pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit burglary with intent to steal and cause criminal damage at Kingston Crown Court. They will be sentenced on Friday, 23 October.
Detective Superintendent Dan Mitchell, of the Met’s Flying Squad, said: “These criminals dug their own hole after emergency response officers caught them red-handed.” He added that their arrests formed part of a wider Flying Squad investigation that uncovered an organised crime group linked to a string of jewellery shop break-ins across London worth more than £700,000.
Mitchell said commercial burglary offences in the capital had fallen by 12 per cent in the past year, adding: “Our message to these criminals is clear: target London businesses and we'll hunt you down and put you before the courts.”
