Man jailed for burglaries in south-west England after car stopped in Romania
The burglar was part of a "professional gang" who raided homes in villages before moving the goods to the European mainland.
Wednesday 20 May 2020 15:37, UK
A man who committed a spate of burglaries across south-west England has been jailed after he was stopped by police in Romania with a haul of stolen items in his car.
Claudiu Popa, 23, was arrested after DNA evidence linked him to the offences and after a joint investigation involving officers from across Europe.
Popa, of no fixed address, was jailed for three years and 10 months at Taunton Crown Court after admitting conspiracy to commit burglaries.
He was part of a "professional gang of burglars" who smashed windows during their raids on homes in Tickenham, Nailsea, Dyrham, Chilton Polden, Wedmore and Glastonbury in January of this year.
In one raid, medals and jewellery were stolen from an 86-year-old man in Nailsea.
Police in Romania stopped Popa for a traffic offence on 3 February and found silverware, medals and jewellery in the back of his vehicle.
He was released on bail and then fled the country, but Romanian police filed a report with officers in the UK, linking the items to the burglaries in England.
Popa was eventually tracked to a hotel in Scotland, where he had been working, after DNA evidence linked him to some of the crime scenes in Somerset and Gloucestershire.
Alongside officers from forces in England, Scotland and Romania, the operation to bring Popa to justice also involved the National Crime Agency, Interpol and the Metropolitan Police.
PC Mark Pollock, of Avon and Somerset Police, said: "Popa was one of a professional gang of burglars who carried out a series of offences in our force area.
"They would smash windows at the homes they were targeting and steal silverware, jewellery, and in some cases, war medals.
"The crime group would courier the stolen property out of the country and into mainland Europe.
"We're now in the process of working with officers in Romania to obtain photographs of all the recovered items and reunite as many as we can with their rightful owners, but this is going to be a complex and painstaking process.
"Criminals don't respect borders and in this case it needed a Europe-wide effort to bring this offender to justice."
Police are still searching for more suspects linked to the case - two have been arrested for other offences in Switzerland and one other is thought to be on the run in Romania.