Three thieves caught trying to tunnel their way into London jewellery shop

A trio of thieves who were caught trying to tunnel their way into a south London jewellery shop have been linked to a series of burglaries worth more than £700,000.

Metropolitan Police officers foiled the suspected jewellery heist on Mitcham Road, Tooting, in the early hours of Friday, 17 July.

Laurentiu-Daniel Nitisoara, 38, of no fixed address, was arrested immediately in a nearby alleyway before officers tracked down a second man, Ioan Asafeti, 39, hiding on a rooftop.

Officers searched a nearby massage parlour and uncovered the group’s alleged plan to tunnel through a wall into the neighbouring jewellery shop, alongside bags of tools and equipment.

Following the two arrests, detectives identified a car linked to the group and used mobile phone data to track down a third member, Sergiu Plastin, 42, of Portadown, Craigavon.

Plastin was arrested at Stansted Airport as he tried to flee to Ireland.

The three men pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit burglary with intent to steal and cause criminal damage at Kingston Crown Court on Friday.

They will be sentenced at the same court on 23 October.

An investigation, led by the Met's Flying Squad, later linked the group to several burglaries across London between May and July, worth more than £700,000.

Met Police said the men mainly targeted jewellers, using tunnelling techniques to gain access to shops overnight while bypassing security systems.

CCTV footage has since been obtained showing members of the group acquiring tools and other equipment used in the offences, police said.

Detective Superintendent Dan Mitchell said the trio “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.”