A relentless police pursuit of a robber who fled the country after stealing around £41,000 worth of mobile phones has seen him being jailed.
Marih Dimitru posed as a customer with another man before threatening members of staff at the now former Carphone Warehouse store at the Victoria Retail Park in Netherfield.
The 22-year-old asked a member of staff if a phone could be unlocked from the display for him to have a look at – but was told the phones had been secured due to a recent robbery.
Dimitru then replied “well I am going to rob you now” and demanded to be given access to the back office.
He threatened to stab a member of staff if he didn’t cooperate. Although no weapon was seen, Dimitru gestured towards his trousers and pockets while mentioning the knife, making staff believe he had one in his possession.
Dimitru then demanded access to the safe and when it was opened by the fearful staff he filled bin liners with boxed mobile phones.
Dimitru and the other man then left via the front entrance with a haul of around 80 phones and fled in a car.
No-one was injured during the robbery which happened during the afternoon of 11 October 2018.
A manhunt was quickly launched and following extensive police enquiries, including CCTV checks, the car was later found abandoned nearby.
Detailed work was carried out to locate both offenders, including checks using national police systems.
As part of their exhaustive intelligence work, Nottinghamshire Police successfully applied for a European arrest warrant as it was believed Dimitru had left the country and was using another name.
The warrant was issued which led to his arrest in Germany in October 2020.
Following a forensic examination, which was carried out at the store by specialist officers, Dimitru’s fingerprints were found on the mobile phone display and the safe in the office.
Dimitru, of Bankdale Road, Birmingham, went on to plead guilty to a charge of robbery and he was jailed for three years and 10 months when he appeared at Nottingham Crown Court on Friday (25 March 2022).
Police Investigator Adam Karimjee, of Nottinghamshire Police, said: “Dimitru tried everything to evade being caught after committing this terrifying crime so I’m delighted he has now been brought to justice.
“It’s taken a lot of tenacious work to achieve this result and I hope it shows how Nottinghamshire Police teams will work relentlessly alongside partners to track down offenders and bring them before the courts – even if they have left the country.
“Unfortunately there wasn’t enough evidence to charge the second suspect but our determined and tireless work in this investigation enabled us to catch a dangerous offender and bring him to account for this appalling crime.
“I hope it also shows how the force treats all reports of robbery with the utmost seriousness and how we will always exhaust every line of enquiry in order to apprehend suspects and bring offenders to account for their actions.”
