Eagle-Eyed Cop Nabs Cheque Crook

A cheque thief, who was arrested in the City of London, after an off-duty policeman spotted him acting suspiciously near a branch of Barclays Bank, was conditionally discharged on Wednesday.

Jobless warehouseman Vitalis Mudzviti, 29, of Windsor Street South, Birmingham, was a passenger in a Mercedes and the stolen cheques were later found during a search of his home.

“We are concerned about these offences. The provenance of these cheques seems rather mysterious,” Bench Chairman Mr. Alex Stewart told the defendant at City of London Magistrates’ Court.

Zimbabwe-born father-of-four Mudzviti pleaded guilty to stealing a £3,169 Royal Sun Alliance Insurance cheque and a £94.00 Macfarlane Labels Ltd. cheque on or before April 22.

Prosecutor Miss Alexa Morgan told the court on a previous occasion the car was stopped in Old Broad Street on April 21 when an off-duty police officer noticed the occupants paying particular attention to the Barclays branch (pictured).

The vehicle was stopped and a search turned up a Barclays Connect card in a different name to the defendants and both were arrested on suspicion of theft.

The driver, Zimbabwe-born Norbert Mapunde, 32, of Powell Street, Wolverhampton, an International Business Management student at Wolverhampton University, was originally charged with possessing Barclays Bank sort codes and the Connect card for use in the course of or in connection with fraud, but charges were dropped on October 28.

“Mudzviti’s home was searched and officers found the two cheques,” added Miss Morgan.

Mudzviti’s lawyer Miss Romana Khan told the court: “The cheques were never cashed and there was no loss to these companies.

“My client says these offences took place when he hired a VW Golf car for a family event and by the handbrake found the two cheques in an envelope.

“It was his fault he did not return them to the owner. He kept the cheques in his property for six months and intended to return them, but never got round to it.”

Mudzviti was conditionally discharged for 18 months and ordered to pay £75 costs.