Six people jailed for phone thefts in London, England

Six people have been jailed following a major investigation into thefts from mobile phone shops across the country by the Met’s National Mobile Phone Crime Unit.

The defendants, five men and one woman who are all originally from Romania, were sentenced at Southwark Crown Court on 26th August after pleading guilty to the offences at the same court on 21st July this year.

a) Darfinel Varga, aged 18, (date of birth 30/8/91), of Bevan Avenue, Barking, was sentenced to 18 months imprisonment;

b) Adrian Berchi, aged 27, (date of birth 30/11/1982), of the same address above, received16 months imprisonment

c) Loredana (Ana) Varga [female], aged 21, (date of birth 9/06/1989), of the same address, was sentenced to 22 months imprisonment;

d) Robert Adam, aged 21, date of birth 13/09/1988, of the same address, was sentenced to 22 months imprisonment;

e) Traiain Adam, aged 41, (date of birth 07/07/1969), of the same address was sentenced to 16 months imprisonment;

f) Valer Varga, aged 19, (date of birth 15/04/1991) of Movers Lane, Barking. Was sentenced to 21 months imprisonment.

The judge also recommended that they were deported after serving their sentences.

They were arrested after officers from the NMPCU, assisted by colleagues, carried out raids on addresses in east London on 28th April 2010 as part of an investigation into an organised criminal network responsible for shop burglaries.

The gang was connected to more than 30 burglaries on mobile phone shops between January 2010 and April 2010; during the offences around £240,000 worth of stock was stolen.

Police have so far recovered around a quarter of the stolen phones.

DI Mark Loving, from the unit, said: "The National Mobile Phone Crime unit provides a specialist response to phone crime throughout the UK. In this instance our aim was to dismantle the organised criminal gang and disrupt the flow of stolen mobile phones abroad."

“The Financial Investigation Unit of the NMPCU carried out meticulous work to support the case. I would also like to thank the mobile phone industry, which played a significant role in the intelligence and evidence gathering."

Speaking on behalf of the mobile industry, Jack Wraith, Chief Executive of MICAF (Mobile Industry Crime Action Forum) the body that represents the UK mobile phone industry relating to security, said: "We are committed to the strong partnership that exists between the NMPCU dedicated police unit and the Industry."