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Three plead guilty to attempted burglary after trying to tunnel into south London jewellers
Police said the group used tunnelling methods and was linked to more than £700,000 in jewellery shop burglaries across London.
On Friday, Ioan Asafeti, Laurentiu-Daniel Nitisoara, and Sergiu Plastin pleaded guilty at Kingston Crown Court to conspiracy to commit burglary with intent to steal and cause criminal damage.
Metropolitan Police officers foiled the attempted heist on July 17 in Tooting, South London, discovering the trio drilling through a wall from a massage parlour into a jewellery shop.
Detectives used mobile phone data to track Sergiu Plastin to London Stansted Airport, where he was arrested attempting to flee to Ireland after officers identified a vehicle linked to the group.
The Flying Squad investigation linked the men to burglaries across London worth more than £700,000 between May and July. All three will be sentenced at Kingston Crown Court on October 23.
Police report commercial burglary offences across the capital fell 12% in the past year. Further enquiries through Interpol revealed possible links to similar offences in Europe.