News —
Tunnel-digging gang pleads guilty after Met foils jewellery heist
Thieves who were caught by Met officers attempting to tunnel their way into a jewellery shop in south London have pleaded guilty, after an investigation linked the organised crime group to a series of burglaries worth more than £700,000.
Body-worn video captures emergency response officers arriving within minutes of reports of a suspected burglary on Mitcham Road, Tooting, at 03:12hrs on Friday, 17 July.
One suspect, Laurentiu-Daniel Nitisoara, is arrested immediately in a nearby alleyway. Following a search of the area, officers track down a second man, Ioan Asafeti, hiding on a rooftop and put him in handcuffs.
Officers then search a massage parlour the pair had broken into and uncover their plan to tunnel through a wall into the neighbouring jewellery shop. They also find bags of tools and equipment being used to dig the hole.
Officers arrested a third member of the group, Sergiu Plastin, later that day, as he tried to flee the country.
The investigation, led by the Met's Flying Squad, linked the group to several burglaries across the capital between May and July. The men mainly targeted jewellers, using tunnelling techniques to gain access to shops overnight while bypassing security systems.
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.
“Their arrests 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.
“We're driving down commercial burglary across the capital, with offences falling by 12 per cent in the past year.
“Our message to these criminals is clear: target London businesses and we'll hunt you down and put you before the courts.”
On Friday, 21 August, the men pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit burglary with intent to steal and cause criminal damage at Kingston Crown Court:
- Ioan Asafeti, 39 (18.06.87), of no fixed address
- Laurentiu-Daniel Nitisoara, 38 (07.11.87), of no fixed address
- Sergiu Plastin, 42 (18.03.84) of Portadown, Craigavon
The Met remains committed to tackling burglary across the capital and keeping Londoners safe. Commercial burglary offences fell by 12.1 per cent in the 12 months ending July, compared with the previous 12 months. The Met has also put hundreds more officers on the frontlines of community crime-fighting teams, upping visible patrols in the right ‘hot spots’ so they can catch criminals.
Following the arrests of Asafeti and Nitisoara, Flying Squad detectives identified a car linked to the group and used mobile phone data to track down Plastin. Officers arrested Plastin at Stansted Airport as he tried to flee to Ireland.
Detectives gathered extensive CCTV footage showing members of the group obtaining tools and other equipment used in the offences.
Further enquiries through Interpol revealed the group had possible links to similar offences in Europe.
They will be sentenced on Friday, 23 October at Kingston Crown Court.
NOTES TO EDITOR:
Video of arrests can be found here: https://mps.box.com/s/1icm46u3jtipa02qomj7dpri744umavw
- Body-worn video footage of officers arresting Nitisoara and Asafeti outside jewellery shop.
- Body-worn video footage of officers arresting Plastin at Stansted Airport.
- Mugshots of Asafeti, Nitisoara, and Plastin.