Two Romanian migrants have been jailed after embarking on a burglary spree within 24 hours of setting foot on British soil.
Ion Zaharia, 44, and Samir Barbulesteanu, 23, entered the country on October 28, arriving at Harwich in Essex aboard a Citroen C4 with French registration plates.
They were accompanied by a third man who remains unidentified and at large.
Prosecutor Nick Cockerill told the court: “Within a very short time of their arrival, the offences were committed in the Warrington area.”
The pair wasted no time launching their criminal enterprise, striking their first targets in Cheshire on October 29 before extending their activities to Scarborough, North Yorkshire in a fortnight-long rampage.
Their first major haul came on October 30 when a family returned from a holiday to discover their home in Great Sankey had been turned upside down.
The intruders had smashed through a rear patio door, leaving the property in chaos with wardrobe doors torn from their hinges and iPads trampled underfoot.
Children’s bedrooms were left in complete disarray, with clothing strewn across floors and glass fragments embedded in carpets.
Ion Zaharia (right) and Samir Barbulesteanu (left) entered the country on October 28
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CHESHIRE CONSTABULARY
The thieves made off with approximately £1,500 in cash, including £40 stolen from a young girl’s money box, along with jewellery belonging to the homeowner’s deceased brother.
Judge Gary Woodhall addressed the defendants directly: “You ransacked that family’s home, including the children’s bedrooms.
“The children witnessed what you had done to their home. What you did caused distress and fear for the whole family.”
The criminals also targeted an elderly woman living alone in Rainhill, smashing through her conservatory doors whilst she slept inside.
She awoke to discover the damage the following morning, later saying: “I live alone and the whole thing has left me very shaken and I feel unsafe in my own home.”
Both men admitted conspiracy to commit burglary and were sentenced at Liverpool Crown Court
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PAAnother victim in Great Sankey found her daughter’s bedroom window shattered, with glass scattered across the child’s bed.
The gang’s final known strike occurred in Scarborough, when a solicitor conducting a routine property inspection discovered an unoccupied house on Linton Close had been burgled, with a safe containing jewellery stolen from a wardrobe.
Zaharia and Barbulesteanu were apprehended at Birmingham Airport on November 9, with officers recovering jewellery and £490 in cash from their possession.
Both men admitted conspiracy to commit burglary and were sentenced at Liverpool Crown Court.
Zaharia and Barbulesteanu were apprehended at Birmingham Airport on November 9
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PAZaharia, who holds previous convictions in France, Austria and Romania for offences including aggravated theft and fraud, was handed four years and three months’ imprisonment.
Barbulesteanu, who had no prior criminal record, received three years and six months behind bars.
Judge Woodhall said: “Anybody having their home broken into in this way, their castle, the place where they should feel safe, has all that safety and protection undermined.”
Defence counsel for both men cited financial hardship in Romania and family responsibilities as mitigating factors.
The judge confirmed both defendants face deportation upon completing their sentences rather than release into the community.