A thief was betrayed by his own bank card after using it while fitting trap devices to cashpoints across the East Midlands and beyond.
Felix Urcaciu used the card to make seemingly legitimate balance enquiries as he fitted the metal envelope devices to the machines’ cash dispensers.
He and his brother, Cristian Urcaciu, stole at least £25,000 in cash that customers withdrew but never received.
Instead, the money was secreted into a metal sleeve over the top of the cash dispenser slot.
Customers would assume there was a fault with the machine and leave before the brothers returned to collect the money later.
Nottinghamshire Police began an investigation in summer 2023 after money was stolen from ATMs in Sneinton, Chilwell and Bramcote.
Detectives analysed hundreds of hours of CCTV footage from locations where customers had reported losing money and were able to identify two suspects and two vehicles.
By cross-checking transaction records with the footage, officers were able to link Felix to the offences through the use of his own bank card.
With offences also uncovered in Leeds, Leicester, Sheffield, Wakefield, Derbyshire and Scotland, officers had enough evidence to secure a search warrant for an address in Barnsley – the home of Cristian Urcaciu.
During the execution of that warrant on 2 August 2023, officers discovered an improvised workshop in a garage where the trap devices were being manufactured.
Cristian was arrested at the scene alongside another suspect before Felix arrived carrying cash stolen during an offence committed in Sheffield earlier that morning.
After searching the vehicle he had been driving, officers recovered the bank card used during the offences and a mobile phone containing images of various crime scenes.
They also recovered a metallic hook device used to remove the devices from the machines.
Cristian, 37, of Upper Sheffield Road, Barnsley, waited until the day his trial was due to begin, on 27 April, before pleading guilty to conspiracy to steal and concealing criminal property.
Felix, 33, of Thomas Street, Selby, was found guilty in his absence of conspiracy to steal, concealing criminal property and possessing criminal property.
Charges against two female defendants were dismissed following Cristian’s guilty plea.
Appearing at Nottingham Crown Court today (14 July), Cristian was sentenced to 33 months in prison.
Felix was sentenced in his absence to 40 months in prison.
His Honour Judge Mark Watson said the two men were both involved in a sophisticated and sustained conspiracy to steal from ATMs across the region.
Felix was tried, convicted and sentenced in his absence
Police Staff Investigator Jodie Mottishaw said:
“The Urcaciu brothers were travelling all over the region to steal cash from unsuspecting victims.
“This was a calculated and cynical conspiracy that involved the subsequent movement of stolen funds to multiple bank accounts.
“Ultimately, however, the brothers were undone by their own greed and carelessness, which allowed us to track them down and bring them to justice.”