Jewellery heist gang jailed
They were caught trying to tunnel into a jewellers in Tooting in July
Last updated 23rd Oct 2026
A gang of thieves who were caught attempting to tunnel their way into a jewellery shop in south London have been sentenced to a combined ten years in prison.
It follows a Met Police investigation that linked the organised crime group to a series of burglaries worth more than £700,000.
Body-worn video captures emergency response officers arriving within minutes of reports of a suspected burglary on Mitcham Road, Tooting, at 03:12hrs on Friday, 17 July.
One suspect, Laurentiu-Daniel Nitisoara, was then arrested immediately in a nearby alleyway; a second man, Ioan Asafeti, was soon tracked down hiding on a rooftop.
Officers then searched a massage parlour the pair had broken into and uncovered their plan to tunnel through a wall into the neighbouring jewellery shop. They also find bags of tools and equipment being used to dig the hole.
Officers arrested a third member of the group, Sergiu Plastin, later that day, as he tried to flee the country.
Links to other burglaries across London
The investigation, led by the Met's Flying Squad, linked the group to several burglaries across the capital between May and July. The men mainly targeted jewellers, using tunnelling techniques to gain access to shops overnight while bypassing security systems.
Detective Chief Inspector Craig Magee, from the Met’s Flying Squad, said:
“Today’s sentencing sends a clear message: if you target London businesses, we’ll catch you, and you will face justice.
“Our crackdown on thieves is delivering results. We're driving down commercial burglary across the capital, with offences falling by 11 per cent in the past 12 months.
“The arrests of these three thieves 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.”
On Friday, 23 October, the men were sentenced at Kingston Crown Court after pleading guilty in August to conspiracy to commit burglary with intent to steal and cause criminal damage:
Ioan Asafeti, 39, of no fixed address, jailed for four years and ten months.
Sergiu Plastin, 42, of Portadown, Craigavon, jailed for three years and four months.
Laurentiu-Daniel Nitisoara, 38, of no fixed address, jailed for two years.
Following the arrests of Asafeti and Nitisoara, Flying Squad detectives identified a car linked to the group and used mobile phone data to track down Plastin. Officers arrested Plastin at Stansted Airport as he tried to flee to Ireland.
Detectives gathered extensive CCTV footage showing members of the group obtaining tools and other equipment used in the offences.
Further enquiries through Interpol revealed the group had possible links to similar offences in Europe.