A group who conspired to burgle homes in north Cumbria have been jailed.
They appeared at Carlisle Crown Court today, Thursday November 20.
The group targeted homes in Carlisle, Hayton and Bothel between May 29 and June 4 2023.
They were:
- Florina Manole, 35, of no fixed abode, sentenced to 17 months
- Ion Baban, 39, of Spring Gardens, Shrewsbury, sentenced to two years and four months
- Antonio Baja, 33, of no fixed abode, sentenced to three years and two months
- Ioam Iovi, 30, of Worchester Road, London, sentenced to two years and eight months
- Miriam Avramoaie, 27, of Clay Lane, Coventry, sentenced to 17 months
On the evening of June 4 officers received a report of burglary after three men were disturbed in an address on Longlands Road, Carlisle. The men left the scene via Rickerby Park.
Detectives obtained CCTV from the property which showed the three men entering the garden and forcing entry to the property via a kitchen window before being disturbed six minutes later and can be seen running out of the property.
Following the report, the homeowner informed officers of being followed home earlier that week by a silver VW golf.
Investigations were carried out and the vehicle was found to have been in the Carlisle area at the time of the incident along with another vehicle – a red Toyota Yaris.
Information on the vehicles was passed to neighbouring police forces and Lancashire Police stopped the silver VW Golf in the early hours of June 5.
The vehicle was being driven by Baja and Avramoaie was also in the vehicle. In her possession was a Louise Vuitton bag, a wallet and jewellery.
Also found was a beige cap which matched that seen on CCTV at the targeted property. The wallet matched the description of that taken from the property.
Also found in the vehicle was a black suitcase containing a number of items including vintage cameras, binoculars, ornamental knives, an ornamental gun and antique maps/documents.
The red Toyota Yaris was tracked by Cheshire police and CCTV found three occupants leaving the vehicle, who were arrested at a nearby hotel. Items found in the hotel room were bank cards in the names of the victims and other items that had been taken.
Items found in the VW Golf were confirmed as connected to burglaries at properties on Park Road Estate in Bothel between May 29 and June 1 and in Hayton on June 1.
PC Joseph Tidmarsh, of Cumberland CID, said: “Those committing burglary offences, like in this case, can expect us to work with other forces to track down those involved and be put before the courts to face prosecution.
“We continue to target burglars with Operation Themis, our response and focus on burglaries.”
