Three thieves have been jailed after they were caught tunnelling into a London jewellery shop, as part of an organised gang linked to a series of burglaries worth more than £700,000 across the capital.
Arrests After Tooting Tunnel Discovery
The group was known for using tunnelling techniques to break into shops, mainly jewellers, overnight. The Met Police had linked the gang to a number of burglaries between May and July.
Dramatic footage shows the moment two of the men were arrested following reports of a suspected burglary on Mitcham Road in Tooting at 3.12am on July 17. The men had broken into a massage parlour and were going to tunnel through a wall to enter the neighbouring jewellery shop.
Officers discovered their plans and the bags of tools and equipment being used to dig the hole.
Three Men Sentenced
The first man, 38-year-old Laurentiu-Daniel Nitisoara, was arrested immediately in a nearby alleyway, before police later tracked down the second man, Ioan Asafeti, 39, hiding on a rooftop. A third member of the group, Sergiu Plastin, 42, was arrested later that day at Stansted Airport.
The force identified a car linked to the gang and used mobile phone data to catch Plastin as he tried to flee to Ireland. Further enquiries through Interpol also revealed that the group had possible links to similar offences in Europe.
The men pleaded guilty in August to conspiracy to commit burglary with intent to steal and cause criminal damage. The trio were sentenced to a combined ten years and two months imprisonment at Kingston Crown Court on Friday. Asafeti had the longest sentence of four years and ten months. Plastin was jailed for three years and four months, while Nitisoara was sentenced to two years.
Flying Squad Investigation
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.
“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 linked to a string of jewellery shop break-ins across London worth more than £700,000.”
The Met said the arrests were due to extensive investigations by the force’s Flying Squad. In the last 12 months, commercial burglary offences have fallen by 10.7%, according to the Met. The force has also deployed hundreds more officers on the frontlines of community crime-fighting teams, upping visible patrols in ‘hotspots’ to catch criminals.
