A tuk-tuk driver who admitted stealing £31,000 worth of fine wine and champagne from three upscale London restaurants has been given two weeks to help police recover the stolen goods before he is sentenced. Iuliu Kubola, 61, appeared at the Old Bailey on Tuesday where Judge Mark Lucraft KC adjourned sentencing until November 3 to allow the defendant to 'make good' on his promise to assist with the recovery.
Kubola pleaded guilty to six burglaries at restaurants in Mayfair, Belgravia and the City of London. The court heard he stole bottles worth £6,000 from Comptoir Cafe and Wine in Mayfair on May 1, along with £200 cash. He targeted Oliveto and Olivo on Elizabeth Street twice in May and June, and struck three times at Piazza Italiana on Threadneedle Street.
During the Piazza Italiana burglaries, Kubola used a pedicab to transport a wheelie bin filled with 73 bottles valued at £23,801. CCTV captured him cycling away from the scene. On June 15, he returned and stole three more bottles and cash. He was arrested on June 22 while riding his tuk-tuk on Cornhill, found with bottles of Villa Bucci wine, Laurent-Perrier champagne, and other spirits, along with tools including crowbars and an angle grinder.
In police interview, Kubola downplayed the value of the wine, claiming he had run a restaurant in Italy for 20 years. He told officers, 'The wine is to drink, no?' His defence barrister said Kubola had previously worked at two of the restaurants and was not paid, leading him to take the wine as 'salary.' Kubola also disclosed that most of the wine was stored at a wine merchant near Aldgate and expressed a desire to return it.
Judge Lucraft warned he would 'draw his own conclusions' if the wine was not returned by the next hearing. He made no promises about a suspended sentence, noting Kubola has previous convictions for shoplifting and driving offences. The defendant, assisted by a Romanian interpreter, remains on bail until sentencing.
