Masked gang targeted Moray store
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A gang of thieves travelled north from Birmingham to stage a daring overnight raid on an electronics store in Elgin two years ago.
The masked men stole over £34,000 of stock from Currys PC World during the early hours of September 25, 2019.
The gang used a circular saw to cut through metal security fences and cladding.
Next, they broke through a brick wall with a crowbar.
Then they crawled through the 3ft by 4ft hole to gain entry into the premises on Edgar Road.
Finally they raced around the store for 10 minutes filling up a black sack with their haul before escaping south in at least two vehicles.
However police received intelligence about one of the cars.
Officers stopped it five hours later on the M74 near Lockerbie.
Three men were inside, including 31-year-old Ioan Chitic of Sladefield Road, Birmingham.
However the police only found three stolen mobile phones.
Neither the tools the criminals used during the break-in nor the vast majority of the stolen goods were recovered.
Fiscal Depute Robert Weir told Inverness Sheriff Court earlier today that the full value of the stolen items totalled £34,105.
The theft was filmed on the store's CCTV.
Chitic was identified from the clothing he was wearing while using the circular saw, as well as from matching fibres found on a fence.
Defence solicitor Duncan Henderson told Sheriff Sara Matheson that his client had lost his job and had no funds.
Mr Henderson said: "He had given in to temptation for what he thought was an easy way to make money.
"He now faces a significant risk of deportation back to Romania as his visa has expired."
Sheriff Matheson jailed Chitic for 21 months, backdated to March 30, the day he was remanded in custody.
She said: "Because of the fact these were commercial premises, the degree of planning involved, tools present, and the value of the goods stolen, there is no alternative to a prison sentence."
