Moment thief hides £24k of stolen wine in wheelie bin before fleeing on tuk-tuk
The moment a thief concealed 76 bottles of stolen wine in a wheelie bin before fleeing the scene of the crime on a tuk-tuk has been caught on camera.
Iuliu Kubola, 61, of Richie Street, Islington, broke into a restaurant on Threadneedle Street and made off with 73 bottles, making his getaway on a tuk-tuk.
The brazen thief was seen struggling to drag the bin from the Piazza Italiana restaurant to his tuk-tuk in CCTV footage.
He then returned to the scene of the crime days later on June 15, where he stole a further three bottles of wine worth around £680.
A third visit to the restaurant on Thursday 19 June saw the thief leave empty-handed.
Kubola was eventually arrested in the early hours of June 22 after an officer recognised the 61-year-old as a person of interest in relation to a spate of burglaries – including those at the restaurant.
PC Jordan Felstead apprehended the Islington resident outside a bar in Cornhill, located in the financial heartlands of the City of London.
CCTV footage of the incident shows Kubola browsing the wine racks before taking the bottles and placing them into wheelie bins.
Moment thief hides £24k of stolen wine in wheelie bin before fleeing on tuk-tuk
He's then seen to load the bin into the back of his pedicab before making off.
As part of the incident, Kubola also caused £1,000 of damage to the building's external door and locks.
Kubola later pleaded guilty to three counts of burglary over the thefts.
Detective Constable Marcus Fairclough, in the Criminal Investigation Department of the City of London Police, 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."
Moment thief hides £24k of stolen wine in wheelie bin before fleeing on tuk-tuk
“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.”
City of London Police are one of a handful of forces that don't screen out ‘low level’ crimes, with scenes of crimes officers attending every incident where forensics can be recovered.
