Three men who broke into a massage parlour in Tooting with a plan to tunnel through the wall into a neighbouring jewellery shop have been sent to prison for a combined total of ten years and two months.
The trio were caught red-handed in the early hours of Friday 17 July, when police were called to a suspected burglary on Mitcham Road at 3.12am. Emergency response officers arrived within minutes, and footage from their body-worn cameras shows the dramatic moments that followed.
Laurentiu-Daniel Nitisoara was arrested immediately in a nearby alleyway. After a search of the area, officers tracked down a second man, Ioan Asafeti, hiding on a rooftop and put him in handcuffs. Inside the massage parlour the pair had broken into, officers uncovered the gang’s plan: to dig through the wall into the jewellery shop next door. Bags of tools and equipment being used to dig the hole were also found.
Third man caught at the airport
A third member of the group, Sergiu Plastin, was arrested later the same day as he tried to flee the country. Flying Squad detectives identified a car linked to the group and used mobile phone data to track him down, intercepting him at Stansted Airport as he attempted to board a flight to Ireland.
All three men pleaded guilty in August to conspiracy to commit burglary with intent to steal and cause criminal damage. On Friday they were sentenced at Kingston Crown Court:
- Ioan Asafeti, 39, of no fixed address — four years and ten months;
- Sergiu Plastin, 42, of Portadown, Craigavon — three years and four months;
- Laurentiu-Daniel Nitisoara, 38, of no fixed address — two years.
Linked to £700,000 burglary spree
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. In total, the break-ins were worth more than £700,000.
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.
Message to criminals, says Flying Squad
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.”
“Our crackdown on thieves is delivering results. We’re driving down commercial burglary across the capital, with offences falling by 11 per cent in the past 12 months.”
“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 sentencing follows a series of successful operations against organised crime in the capital. Earlier this week, another network was dismantled after a Met investigation shut down a blank-firing firearms ring, while detectives are continuing to appeal for information after a man was left fighting for life in Woolwich.
Tackling burglary across the capital
The Met says it remains committed to tackling burglary across the capital and keeping Londoners safe. Commercial burglary offences fell by 10.7 per cent in the 12 months to September, compared with the previous 12 months. The force says it 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.
For traders on Mitcham Road, one of Tooting’s busiest high streets, the sentencing brings an end to a summer of anxiety. The gang’s method — breaking into an adjoining business to dig through to their real target — is one that leaves shopkeepers with little warning, and police hope the outcome will reassure business owners that such cases are being pursued.
The Met says its investigations into the group’s activities are continuing.
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