More on KentOnline
More on KentOnline
A prolific burglar responsible for a string of raids across Dartford and Sevenoaks was banged to rights... because he stole the wrong gadget.
Ion_Liviu Radita, was jailed for seven years after stealing more than 100 items of jewellery in 11 burglaries across the two towns in just a few weeks.
But an iPad spied by him in a Sevenoaks burglary proved to be his downfall - thanks to tracking technology activated on the device.
Radita, a Romanian national, was found guilty of conspiracy to commit burglary between May 3 and May 25.
The Find My iPhone technology in the tablet was used to track him down to his home in Eynsford Road in Ilford.
Detectives traced a red Nissan Primera seen outside one of the properties and were able to prove it travelled to Kent at the exact time each of the 11 burglaries were committed.
A search warrant was carried out at the 36-year-old’s property on May 30 and he was caught red-handed with a jewellery box containing about 100 items of jewellery.
He was arrested and charged with the offences.
Seven of the break-ins were in Dartford, five of which were in a small area of the town – Brentlands Drive, two in Myrtle Road, Beech Road and Berkeley Crescent – and were committed in the space of just eight days.
There were three burglaries in Sevenoaks and one in Greenhithe.
Radita stole laptops, mobile phones, cash and jewellery and in each burglary got in by smashing a back door or window.
He then placed furniture against the front door to prevent anyone entering while he carried out the burglary.
In two of the burglaries in Dartford, both in Myrtle Road, he was found to have urinated on the bed.
Investigating officer, Detective Constable Bill Looker of Kent Police, said: ‘Radita was calculated about the way he went about these burglaries.
"He knew what he was after; laptops, electronic devices and jewellery, which are items he knew he could move on quickly and make a quick buck.
"With the help of the ‘Find My iPhone’ app we were able to tie his location down to a small number of addresses and from there it was a case of using other tools available to us such as Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) cameras to keep tabs and track the car we knew was being used to commit these burglaries.
"The cameras proved the car was in the area of those burglaries at that time and was seen to go back to Essex after they were committed."
