Ioan Zaharia, 52, and Cristian-Petrut Zaharia, 19, who police caught in possession of card-skimming equipment, are guilty of going equipped for theft
Two Leytonstone men have been found guilty of theft offences after City of London cops found card-skimming equipment during a vehicle stop.
Ioan Zaharia, 52, and Cristian-Petrut Zaharia, 19, were arrested on 25th June alongside Sandu Vasilca, 30, of Ilford.
The arrests came after officers sat in the City of London Police control room spotted the trio inside a vehicle near the Cheapside area.
CCTV cameras showed Cristian-Petrut Zaharia getting out of the back seat of the vehicle, going up to an ATM machine with a bank card for a “very short moment”, before jumping back into the car.
Believing the trio to be involved in card skimming, police officers stopped the vehicle on Gresham Street at around 9pm. They carried out a search where items typically used for skimming cash machines were found, as well as dispenser covers, tape, hook picks, screwdrivers, superglue and chisels. A large sum of cash was also discovered.
The most common types of incidents at an ATM are card entrapment and card skimming. To trap a card, fraudsters insert a device into the machine to prevent a card from being ejected. The fraudster then removes the card once you have left the cash machine.
To skim a card, fraudsters insert a device into an ATM which will copy the magnetic stripe details from your card.
Cristian-Petrut Zaharia, and Vasilca were found guilty at the City of London Magistrates’ Court of going equipped for theft, following a trial. Ioan Zaharia had pleaded guilty to the offences in an earlier hearing. Ioan Zaharia has been remanded to appear at the Old Bailey for sentencing.
Cristian-Petrut Zaharia and Vasilca have both been bailed and will appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Friday 6th September.
Detective Constable James Crellin, City of London Police, said: “This successful prosecution highlights our work in catching the offenders and preventing further crimes being carried out.
“Due to our effective CCTV across the City, our control room officers were able to pinpoint their location, which led to the arrests. It’s also a warning to those thinking of committing crimes in the City, we will catch you and bring you to justice.
“The impact of this type of crime can be devastating for the victims, who might find their accounts drained of money.
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