This is the moment thieves attempting to tunnel their way into a jewellery shop in south London in a brazen heist were caught by Met police officers.
Laurentiu-Daniel Nitisoara, 38, and Ioan Asafeti, 39, broke into a neighbouring massage parlour before attempting to drill a hole into the jewellers.
The break-in Tooting on July 17 was the latest in a series of burglaries the tunnelling gang carried out on businesses in the capital - making holes in shops to bypass security systems as they stole £700,000 in goods.
Body-worn video captured emergency response officers arriving shortly after 3am - minutes after reports of the attempted burglary on Mitcham Road.
Nitisoara was arrested immediately in a nearby alleyway. Following a search of the area, officers tracked down Asafeti, hiding on a rooftop and put him in handcuffs.
The footage shows officers then searching a massage parlour the pair had broken into and uncover their plan to tunnel through a wall into the neighbouring jewellery shop.
They also find bags of tools and equipment being used to dig the hole.
Officers arrested a third member of the group, Sergiu Plastin, later that day, as he tried to flee the country on a flight from Stansted Airport to Ireland.
Flying Squad detectives identified a car linked to the group and used mobile phone data to track Plastin to the airport as he tried to make his escape.
An investigation, led by the Met's Flying Squad, linked the group to several burglaries across the capital between May and July in which the men mainly targeted jewellers.
Detectives gathered extensive CCTV footage showing members of the group obtaining tools and other equipment used in the offences.
Further enquiries through Interpol revealed the group had possible links to similar offences in Europe.
On Friday the men pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit burglary with intent to steal and cause criminal damage at Kingston Crown Court.
They will be sentenced on Friday, 23 October.
Detective Superintendent Dan Mitchell, of the Met’s Flying Squad, said: “These criminals dug their own hole after emergency response officers caught them red-handed.
“Their arrests didn't just stop this burglary. They formed part of a wider Flying Squad investigation that uncovered an organised crime group linked to a string of jewellery shop break-ins across London worth more than £700,000.
“We're driving down commercial burglary across the capital, with offences falling by 12 per cent in the past year.
“Our message to these criminals is clear: target London businesses and we'll hunt you down and put you before the courts.”
