Two Romanians jailed over “sophisticated and daring” heist at jewelry shop in London

Two Romanians who drilled through the walls to raid a jewelry store in central London under the cover of a nearby marathon have been sentenced to six years in prison each, local Agerpres reported, quoting Press Association. They managed to steal jewelry worth almost GBP 300,000.

Florin-Cristian Neagu and Sorin Munteanu were found guilty of committing the "sophisticated and daring" heist at the George Attenborough & Son Jewellers store in central London. Jurors at Southwark Crown Court needed only 32 minutes to convict Neagu and Munteanu, after prosecutor Philip Stott said there was "overwhelming evidence" of their guilt.

The two Romanians, together with their associate Nicolae Sisca, carried out the burglary over the March 23-24 weekend last year.

According to the indictment, the men first tried to reach the jewelry store on March 23, but accidentally drilled through the wall of a neighboring betting shop. The jurors were shown footage of one of the men believed to be Sisca, crawling through the hole in the wall and then looking around the betting shop before turning back. They were also shown images of Munteanu covering a surveillance camera with a substance.

The second day of the theft, March 24, coincided with the day of a half-marathon in London, which the Romanians used to their advantage. They stole GBP 298,987 worth of jewelry and also tried to break the store's safe, which contained items estimated at GBP 400,000.

Neagu and Munteanu fled the UK within 48 hours of the burglary, but were arrested in Romania and extradited back to the United Kingdom last year. The jewelry has not been recovered.

(Photo source: ID 108184203 © Jens Rother/Dreamstime.com)