Mihai Boje and Vasile Morar sentenced for handling stolen goods in London, England

Two men have been sentenced for handling stolen goods having been found in possession of 310 stolen beer kegs worth an estimated £20,000.

Both men appeared at Wood Green Crown Court on 19 July 2010 and were each sentenced to 9 months imprisonment suspended for two years, 180 hours unpaid work, and to each pay £750 prosecution costs.

Mihai Boje, 41, a painter, of Shelbourne Road N17 and Vasile Morar, 31, a carpenter, of Seymour Avenue N17 were found not guilty of theft and guilty of handling stolen goods following trial having earlier submitted pleas of not guilty to both counts.

A third defendant, Ionut-anton Ungur, 28, a driver, of no fixed abode pleaded not guilty to theft and handling stolen goods and was found not guilty on both counts. He was discharged on 24 June 2010.

On Sunday 7 February 2010 police carrying out patrols in N17 observed a Chrysler Voyager People Carrier loaded with beer kegs.

The officers stopped the vehicle in Asplins Road N17 and spoke to the occupants, the driver [A] and the passenger [B].

The vehicle contained about 20 empty metal beer kegs.

A check on the vehicle showed it was linked to a beer keg theft in west London in 2009 and the two occupants of the vehicle were arrested on suspicion of handling stolen goods.

Enquiries led officers to the home address of [A] where they found about 100 further beer kegs in the garden.

A man at the address [C] was also arrested on suspicion of handling stolen goods.

Officers located two vans, a Ford transit and an Iveco, nearby loaded with about 150 kegs.

Further enquiries led officers to the home address of [C] where they found about 30 more kegs

A, B and C were charged with theft and having possession of criminal property, namley 310 empty beer kegs, with the result as above.

Detective Superintendent Paul Hoare said: "As the direct result of patrolling officers carrying out a stop on a suspicious vehicle and the subsequent investigation, police recovered about £20,000 worth of stolen property and two men have been convicted for handling stolen goods."