A MAN from Co. Armagh is one of three people who have appeared in court after attempting to tunnel their way into a London jewellery shop.
Sergiu Plastin, 42, of Portadown as well as Ioan Asafeti, 39, and Laurentiu-Daniel Nitisoara, 38, attempted to burgle the jewellers in Tooting last month by tunnelling in from a neighbouring massage parlour.
After being arrested, an investigation linked the organised crime group to a series of burglaries across London worth more than £700,000.
At Kingston Crown Court last Friday, the three men each pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit burglary with intent to steal and cause criminal damage.
"These criminals dug their own hole after emergency response officers caught them red-handed," said Detective Superintendent Dan Mitchell of the Metropolitan Police’s Flying Squad.
The gang had attempted to tunnel into the jewellers from a neighbouring massage parlour (Image: Metropolitan Police)Emergency response officers arrived within minutes of reports of a suspected burglary on Mitcham Road at 3.12am on Friday, July 17.
Nitisoara was arrested immediately in a nearby alleyway before Asafeti was detained after being found hiding on a rooftop during a search of the area.
Officers searched a massage parlour the pair had broken into and uncovered their plan to tunnel through a wall into the neighbouring jewellery shop.
They also found bags of tools and equipment being used to dig the hole.
From left, Plastin, Laurentiu-Daniel Nitisoara and Ioan Asafeti (Images: Metropolitan Police)Flying Squad detectives identified a car linked to the group and used mobile phone data to track down Plastin, who was arrested later that day 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.
The investigation linked the group to several burglaries across London between May and July.
The men mainly targeted jewellers, using tunnelling techniques to gain access to shops overnight while bypassing security systems.
Further enquiries through Interpol revealed the group had possible links to similar offences in Europe.
Plastin was arrested at Stansted Airport as he tried to flee to Ireland (Image: Metropolitan Police)"Their arrests didn't just stop this burglary," said DS Mitchell.
"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."
The three men are due to be sentenced at Kingston Crown Court on Friday, October 23.
Everything from irishpost.com and the print edition is available on the Irish Post App — plus more! Download it for Android or Apple IOS devices today.
