Booze Cruise: No Prison Time For Square Mile Burglar

Caught Red-Handed: Kubola

A tuk-tuk pedicab driver broke into the same City of London restaurant three times in six weeks – stealing £24,000 worth of wine – has been sentenced.

Iuliu Kubola, 61, used his job as a cover to pedal around the Square Mile, targeting the restaurant, located near the Bank of England.

CCTV images captured him taking seventy-three bottles of wine on the first occasion; three the second time, before leaving empty-handed after the third raid.

Kubola, of Richie Street, Islington pleaded guilty to three counts of burgling the Threadneedle Street business.

He received twenty months imprisonment, suspended for two years.

He initially burgled the business on Friday, May 6, loading the bottles into his pedicab and cycling away.

He returned on June 15 and 19.

He was arrested on June 22 at around 12:30am, when an officer recognised Kubola as a person of interest following a police briefing.

Police constable Jordan Felstead approached Kubola, who had stopped outside a bar on Cornhill.

After making further enquiries with the Criminal Investigation Department, it was discovered that Kubola was a suspect connected to a spate of burglaries.

City of London Police boast that they are one of the few forces where scenes of crimes officers go to every incident where forensics can be recovered and do not screen out ‘low level’ crime.

Detective Constable Marcus Fairclough, of the Criminal Investigation Department said: “Thanks to the good work by our officers, who spotted him and quickly made enquiries and the arrest, Iuliu Kubola will face the consequences of his criminality.

“Burglary has a significant impact on businesses and residential communities.

“We will attend all reports of break-ins in the City; giving us the best chance of making an arrest and collecting evidence from a scene.

“We will always take this type of criminality seriously and thoroughly investigate all evidential leads, including forensics, to bring those perpetrators to justice.”

Kubola also caused damage to the external door and locks, costing £1,000 to change locks and £425 to repair the damage.

Physical Forensics Manager Andrew Walker, of the City of London Police, said: “Our fast response is vital to maximise forensic opportunities and lessen the impact on the victims.

“Being burgled is horrendous; not being able to tidy up or open your business and resume trading exacerbates this massively.

“The victim is at the heart of everything we do. Delivering them justice, whilst minimising the impact that crime has on them, is the bedrock on which City of London Police Forensic Services operates.”