Three men admit plotting tunnel burglary of south London jewellery shop
Three suspects confessed to conspiring to burglarise a jewellery store in Tooting after digging a tunnel from a nearby massage parlour.
In the early hours of 17 July, three men - Ioan Asafeti, 39, Laurentiu-Daniel Nitisoara, 38, and Sergiu Plastin, 42 - admitted to a conspiracy to commit burglary after police uncovered a tunnel they had excavated from a neighbouring massage parlour into a jewellery store on Mitchum Road in Tooting, south London. Footage from a body-worn camera captured Nitisoara’s arrest in a nearby alley, while Asafeti was found concealed on a rooftop; Plastin was traced through his mobile phone signal and arrested at Stansted Airport as he attempted to board a flight to Ireland.
The investigation, led by the Met’s Flying Squad, linked the men to a series of commercial break-ins targeting jewellers across the capital between May and July, with stolen items valued at more than £700,000. Detectives noted the use of tunnelling techniques to evade security systems and indicated possible connections to similar offences in Europe. The three will be sentenced at Kingston Crown Court on 23 October.
Why it matters
The case highlights sophisticated burglary tactics and a wider criminal network targeting high-value retailers in London.
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