‘Prowler’ behind dozens of burglaries should have been deported years ago
A NOTORIOUS burglar nicknamed the Wimbledon Prowler faces a deportation order several years after officials missed their chance to send him back to his native Albania, it emerged yesterday, as his victims described how their lives had been shattered.
Asdrit Kapaj, 42, was jailed for 14 years after a prolific burglary spree that terrorised residents of the affluent area of south-west London for a decade.
Sajid Javid, the Home Secretary, will seek to have the father-of-two deported after he admitted 25 charges of burglary and attempted burglary in which cash and valuables worth almost £500,000 were stolen in meticulously planned break-ins before he was even- tually caught last year.
Police suspect he committed 10 times that number of offences, stealing goods worth several million pounds dating back to the millennium.
Judge Peter Lodder QC, sentencing Kapaj at Kingston Crown Court yesterday, told him: “You are a prolific, persistent and professional burglar. Such was your stealth and expertise, in many cases it remains a mystery how you gained entry to their homes.”
Kapaj, who arrived in the UK in 1996, only managed to stay in the UK after falsely claiming to be a Kosovan seeking asylum. He was, however, refused naturalisation in 2011 as he had lied about his nationality, meaning he should have been deported. As he was jailed, a Home Office source told The Daily Telegraph: “We will be trying to deport him. We automatically consider all foreign national offenders who get 12 months or more.”
The source said: “There are questions as to why they didn’t deport him at the time. It’s a tricky one to get into. We are going to have to try to get rid of him. How easy that is is another matter. Human rights could be an issue.”
Kapaj has two children by his wife Radi, who are thought to have been born in the UK. In 2004, he moved to Altrincham, Greater Manchester, where he owns a fish and chip shop, before regularly making the 430-mile round trip to Wimbledon several times a week, telling his wife he was going to do building work.
His wealthy victims included Boris Becker, whose home was broken into in 2013. A relative of Cressida Dick, the Metropolitan Police commissioner, is also said to have been targeted while French footballer Nicolas Anelka reportedly chased him across a garden.
Residents said fears in the area were so high that “suspicious” childminders, drivers and cleaners were sacked.
In victim impact statements read to the court, they told of the devastation caused by the theft of family heirlooms, designer handbags and significant quantities of cash, none of which has been recovered.
Clare Calnan, whose home was targeted in 2014, said: “For years, every time I walked down my path to my door at night, I wondered if he was lying in wait, watching and waiting. Peace of mind was the most valuable thing he took.”
Nan Brenninkmeyer suffered the greatest financial loss when Kapaj stole 30 items of expensive and sentimental jewellery valued at £371,855. Michael Lamaa said his wife had never since felt secure in her own home.
The deportation order could be served almost immediately. If it was successful, Kapaj would likely not be deported until the end of his sentence.