A gang of callous crime “tourists” who plundered homes on winter trips to the West Midlands have been jailed after we ended their seasonal burglary spree.
Heartless Romanian thieves Ninel Spiru, Avram Spiru and Nicolae-Bogdan Baiceanu smashed their way into more than 30 homes in just a few weeks either side of Christmas.
They ransacked rooms during destructive searches and stole a stash of valuables including sentimental jewellery from widowers and children’s christening bracelets.
At one home in Tividale the heartless trio even swiped a child’s piggy bank.
The Spirus − who it’s understood are related − and Baiceanu struck at various times of day and were brazen enough to force open or smash windows in broad daylight while homes were occupied.
During one shocking raid on 21 January in Ridgacre Lane, Quinton, they rummaged through a house while the occupier was taking a shower.
The gang used 26-year-old Ninel Spiru’s black Ford Focus to commit the offences and on 4 February our officers stopped it in Smethwick High Street where all three were arrested.
A search of a nearby flat revealed a hoard of jewellery stuffed into bags. The total value of their ill-gotten gains is unclear but it’s estimated to be around £200,000.
Forensics experts found a droplet of blood near a broken window pane following a burglary in Coronation Road, Great Barr on 4 December last year that returned a DNA hit to Avram Spiru.
And the 38-year-old’s DNA was also recovered from a house in Victoria Road, Wednesfield that the group targeted on 26 January.
The following day the gang attacked a home in Sutton Hill, Sutton Coldfield. Detectives seized CCTV showing Baiceanu opening a side gate to the property before he had time to pull a snood up over his face.
They initially denied conspiracy to commit burglary − a charge that also encompassed two Stafford break-ins − but in the face of compelling evidence they later admitted their roles.
And at Birmingham Crown Court on Thursday (18 June) Avram Spiru was sentenced to seven years and six months, Baiceanu was sentenced to seven years and two months and Ninel Spiru was given four years.
Investigating officer, Detective Sergeant Nigel Box from our Force CID, said: “We are looking at three truly heartless thieves…they had total disregard for the distress and upset they were causing victims.
“They smashed their way into homes, trashed children’s bedrooms, and swiped sentimental items, including World War 1 medals, from pensioners living alone. People had put their lives on the line for those medals, they are treasured possessions, yet these three were happy to steal them to make a few pounds.
“Some victims lost jewellery and electricals valued at many thousands of pounds but they also left some, including children, psychologically scarred, from the trauma of suffering a break-in.
“Their flight history suggests they are seasonal thieves, flying into the UK for the winter and returning to Romania to enjoy the summer with their ill-gotten gains. They were essentially crime tourists.
“My team worked really hard to gather evidence against the three and I’m pleased they’ve all been handed jail sentences.”
The Spirus − both of no fixed address − and Baiceanu who was living in Windmill Lane, Smethwick, committed the offences between 15 November last year and 3 February.
The first address they hit was in Cranbourne Road, Kingstanding, where they made off with a laptop, hard-drive and bank cards.
Their final burglary was in Copthorne Road, Kingstanding, on 3 February − the day before we arrested them − where gold jewellery and cash was stolen.
Det Sgt Box added: “We have reunited some victims with their possessions but lots more remains unclaimed.”