Tuk-tuk wine heist culprit avoids jail after some bottles returned

A tuk-tuk driver who stole £31,000 of fine wine and champagne from high-end restaurants has avoided jail after he returned some of the missing stash.

Iuliu Kubola, 61, admitted six burglaries at the three eateries in Mayfair, Belgravia and the City of London, and was handed 20 months in custody suspended for two years.

Previously, Judge Mark Lucraft KC had put off sentencing and given Kubola two weeks to “make good” on his promise to help police recover some of the stolen wine.

Sentencing on Monday, Judge Lucraft told the court: “To cut a lengthy story short, some wine has been recovered and there are a total of 32 unopened bottles of wine, they are valued at approximately £6,687.”

He said the defendant’s efforts to assist police had demonstrated his remorse and the recovery process would continue.

However, the judge noted “significant loss and damage” had been caused at Piazza Italiana where 73 bottles were snatched during one raid.

Previously, the court heard that some of the wine was found on Kubola when he was arrested riding a pedicab in the City of London in June.

Asked what he intended to do with everything he had stolen, he told police: “The wine is to drink, no?”

Prosecutor Matthew Jolliffe said the defendant had entered Comptoir Cafe and Wine in Mayfair in the early hours of May 1 and made off with several bottles of wine valued at £6,000 and £200 cash from the till.

On May 13, and June 8, he snatched multiple bottles of wine and cash from Oliveto and Olivo on Elizabeth Street in Belgravia.

In the first incident, Kubola caused damage to an external door and locks, costing £1,000 to change locks and £425 in repairs.

Mr Jolliffe said: “The defendant used a pedal cab to cycle out of the City of London. He returned on the same pedal cab at 3.35am, loaded a wheelie bin into the back and left at 3.57am cycling out of the City of London.”

Around £100 was taken from the cash till and 73 bottles, at a total replacement cost of £23,801, the court heard.

Early on June 15, he was caught on CCTV at the restaurant a second time and made off with three more bottles of wine valued at £680 and £55 from the till.

Four days later, he entered the property again but left without taking anything after the alarm sounded.

He was arrested on June 22 while riding the tuk-tuk on Cornhill in the City of London.

He was found with a bottle of Villa Bucci wine, a bottle of Laurent-Perrier champagne, a bottle of Jack Daniels, a half-empty bottle of Shaw and Smith chardonnay, and a bottle of vodka.

Other items seized included a spanner, pliers, screwdrivers, three crowbars and an angle grinder.

In his police interview, the defendant did not dispute any of the allegations.

He questioned the value of the wine taken, saying: “It was not that much. I have had a restaurant in Italy for 20 years. It did not add up to that much.”

Asked what he did for money, he told police: “If you have cash, you can spend it.”

In mitigation, Daisy Kell-Jones said the defendant had a drink problem and had previously worked at Oliveto and Piazza Italiana restaurants.

She told the court: “He was effectively not paid and he made the reckless and stupid decision, rather than confronting the owners of these restaurants and asking for his salary, effectively decided to go in and take the salary for himself.

“Mr Kubola recognises he should not have done what he did and recognises the loss caused to those two restaurants, and wants to pay them back somehow.”

Kubola, who was assisted by a Romanian interpreter, has previous convictions for shoplifting and driving while disqualified and without a licence.

The court was told he was on police bail at the time of all but one of the burglaries.

Speaking outside court, Detective Chief Inspector Kev Ives, from the City of London Police, said: “Burglary is a priority for us because we need businesses in the square mile to be safe to be able to trade.”

He told reporters that police had found no evidence to support the defendant’s claim to have worked in two of the restaurants he targeted.