The Peterborough Evening Telegraph
ROMANIAN GANG JAILED FOR QUEENSGATE RAID
A Romanian gang who smashed into a Queensgate jewellers have been jailed after a nationwide spree which saw them steal more than £3 million of goods. Jewellery, was stolen from branches of Beaverbrooks, Fraser Hart, Goldsmiths and independent jewellers in a series of 11 raids described as ‘meticulously planned’ by the detective running the investigation.
The Peterborough raid took place at Fraser Hart on August 25 2016 - the penulti- mate burglary in the spree, which started in November 2015.
The gang set small fires in the area on a number of raids - including Peterborough - as a distraction.
DCI Ricky Fields, from Staffordshire police said: “We’re dealing with a group of individuals who are extremely organised and forensically aware. They went to great lengths and employed an interesting MO in an attempt to avoid detection.”
DCI Fields said the group could be linked to the ‘crime academy’inRomaniaasseveral of the members came from thesameregionofthecountry and employed similar strategies.
Five men were sentenced for conspiring to commitburglaries. They were: Bogdan Costel Neagu, (24), of no fixed address was sentenced to eight years two months, Ioan Bucuresteanu, (24), of no fixed address, sentenced to eight years. Vasile Daniel Cardos, (26), of HalesowenStreet, RowleyRegis, WestMidlands, sentenced to eight years two months. Silvu Ioan Acatrinei, (20), of no fixed address, was sentenced to eight years two months. Andrei Florin Tifui, (28), of no fixed address, was sentenced to eight years two months. Ioachim Karp, (19), of nofixedaddress, sentenced to six years six months for aggravated burglary and conspiracy.