Three guilty over £700k tunnel raid on Tooting jewellers
Men pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit burglary after police intercepted a tunnel dug from a massage parlour.
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Three men have pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit burglary following a police intervention into a planned tunnel raid on a jewellery shop in Tooting. The Metropolitan Police stated the offences are valued at more than £700,000. The arrests followed an incident on Mitcham Road where officers responded to a suspected burglary at 3.12am on July 17.
Tunnelled raid intercepted
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Emergency response officers arrived to find the men attempting to tunnel from a massage parlour into the adjacent jewellery shop. Officers located Laurentiu-Daniel Nitisoara, aged 38, and Ioan Asafeti, aged 39, who had no fixed address, in the vicinity. A search of the massage parlour uncovered tools and equipment. Sergiu Plastin, aged 42, from Portadown, Craigavon, was arrested later the same day at Stansted Airport as he attempted to leave the country. Body-worn video footage captured the arrests.
Wider investigation and falling crime rates
The Metropolitan Police’s Flying Squad investigation linked the three men to several burglaries across London between May and July. Detective Superintendent Dan Mitchell of the Flying Squad stated that the arrests stopped not only the Tooting burglary but were part of a larger operation uncovering an organised crime group responsible for multiple jewellery shop break-ins valued in excess of £700,000. The Metropolitan Police reported that commercial burglary offences decreased by 12.1 per cent in the 12 months ending in July, compared to the preceding year. This reduction was attributed partly to the deployment of additional officers to community crime-fighting teams and increased patrols in identified crime hot spots.
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Police received a report of the incident on Masons Avenue on August 17, 2026.
Sentencing details
Asafeti, Nitisoara, and Plastin entered their guilty pleas to conspiracy to commit burglary with intent to steal and cause criminal damage at Kingston Crown Court on August 21. Sentencing for the three men is scheduled for October 23 at Kingston Crown Court.
Questions this report answers
+What happened at the jewellery shop in Tooting?
Three men pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit burglary after being caught attempting to tunnel from a massage parlour into a neighbouring jewellery shop on Mitcham Road. Police intercepted the planned raid in the early hours of July 17.
+How much were the offences valued at?
The Metropolitan Police stated that the offences committed by the three men are valued at more than £700,000. This figure relates to a series of jewellery shop break-ins across London between May and July.
+When will the men be sentenced?
The three men, who pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit burglary, are scheduled to be sentenced on October 23. The sentencing will take place at Kingston Crown Court.
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