A career criminal who smashed his way into two flats – helping himself to I-Phones, foreign currency and other valuables – was eventually tracked down after police viewed hundreds of hours of CCTV.
Jobless Aubrey Appiah, 33, of Shrubbery Road, Streatham, pleaded guilty at Kingston Crown Court to burgling the properties in Shuttleworth Road, Battersea, on October 23, last year and was caged for three years.
Wandsworth CID captured Appiah (pic. r.) after CCTV showed him entering the communal entrance, leaving thirty minutes later and removing a pair of gloves he put into a distinctive black and white carrier bag.
Images from other CCTV locations all over Battersea helped track Appiah’s movements that day and when arrested at home four days later officers seized the distinctive bag and clothing he was wearing during the raids.
Detective Inspector Matt Phelps of the Priority Crime Unit said the evidence from CCTV facilities in the borough produced a roadmap of the suspect's movements that formed the main Prosecution case.
"We want to thank the business community and our partners at Wandsworth Council for their co-operation in providing the CCTV footage that was to prove so crucial to this case,” he announced.
“I also want to point out that residents of Shuttleworth Road where the burglaries took place paid for their own CCTV cameras.
"Appiah had no choice other than to plead guilty when he saw the visual case against him.
“It clearly shows that when used correctly, CCTV can play an integral part in police investigations.
"It enabled Appiah, a prolific offender, to be identified, apprehended and convicted."
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