Thief hides 76 bottles of stolen wine in wheelie bin and flees in tuk-tuk 

A tuk-tuk driver was caught on CCTV using a wheelie bin to steal 76 bottles of wine in thefts that amounted to £24,000.  

Iuliu Kubola broke into a restaurant in central London on May 6 before loading the haul into his pedicab and cycling away.  

The 61-year-old was arrested when a vigilant police officer recognised him as a person of interest following a police briefing.

PC Jordan Felstead stopped the Islington resident outside a bar in the Cornhill financial heartland on June 22. 

After making enquiries with the City of London Police’s Criminal Investigations Department, he discovered that Kubola was a suspect connected to a spate of burglaries. 

He had been seen on CCTV taking the bottles of wine, putting them into the bin and loading it into the back of his pedicab. 

Kubola returned to the Threadneedle Street restaurant on June 15 to steal a further three bottles, worth around £680.

He went back four days later but left without taking anything. 

Det Con Marcus Fairclough, of the Criminal Investigation Department, said: ‘Thanks to the good work by our officers, who spotted him and quickly made enquiries and the arrest, Iuliu Kubola will face the consequences of his criminality. 

‘Burglary has a significant impact on businesses and residential communities. 

‘We will attend all reports of break-ins in the city; giving us the best chance of making an arrest and collecting evidence from a scene. 

‘We will always take this type of criminality seriously and thoroughly investigate all evidential leads, including forensics, to bring those perpetrators to justice.’ 

Kubola damaged an external door and locks, costing £1,425 to repair. 

Physical forensics manager Andrew Walker said: ‘Our fast response is vital to maximise forensic opportunities and lessen the impact on the victims.

‘Being burgled is horrendous; not being able to tidy up or open your business and resume trading exacerbates this massively. 

‘The victim is at the heart of everything we do. Delivering them justice, whilst minimising the impact that crime has on them, is the bedrock on which City of London Police Forensic Services operates.’ 

City of London Police said it is one of the few forces where scenes of crimes officers go to every incident where forensics can be recovered and it does not screen out ‘low level’ crime. 

Kubola will be sentenced in September. 

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