Romanian burglary gang caught tunnelling into a south London jewellers are jailed for just ten years between them

Ioan Asafeti, 39, Laurentiu-Daniel Nitisoara, 38, and Sergiu Plastin, 42, broke into a massage parlour on Mitcham Road, Tooting, to dig through the wall into Selvaraja Gold House next door. Officers caught them just after 3am on July 17. The trio had already raided the same jewellers in May. They were linked to more than £700,000 of burglaries across the capital.

Asafeti got four years and 10 months, Plastin three years and four months, Nitisoara two years.

Police found Asafeti hiding on a rooftop, and Plastin was arrested at Stansted fleeing to Ireland.

Interpol enquiries uncovered possible links to similar raids across Europe.