Two men jailed after a series of cash machine thefts

Two men have been jailed after admitting a series of thefts from cash machines across Dorset.

Constantin Razyan Tanase, aged 32 and Adrian Tanase, aged 36, both of Waverley Road in London, were sentenced to 12 months in prison at Bournemouth Crown Court on Thursday 21 February 2019 after admitting five counts of theft from cash machines. Adrian Tanase also admitted a charge of possessing or controlling an article for use in fraud.

At around 10.15pm on Thursday 10 January 2019 Dorset Police received a report from security staff at the Dolphin Centre in Poole of three men acting suspiciously around a TSB cash machine in Falkland Square.

Town centre cameras tracked the men and showed two of them using some sort of lead or ribbon to remove a large number of bank notes from the machine. The total taken was £230.

The two men were located by officers and arrested. Adrian Tanase was found to have a bank card in his pocket that was not in his name.

Further reports had been received of cash being stolen from TSB machines in High West Street Dorchester and Old Christchurch Road in Bournemouth in the early hours of Friday 4 January 2019, with £300 and £280 taken respectively. A further incident happened in Old Christchurch Road in the early hours of Sunday 30 December 2019, where £310 was taken, and a fifth incident occurred at a TSB cash machine on Gillingham High Street.

CCTV from these offences were obtained and through this Constantin and Adrian Tanase were identified as the men responsible.

The defendants also asked for three cash machine thefts in Suffolk and three in Norfolk that occurred on Sunday 6 January 2019 and Monday 7 January 2019 to be taken into consideration when they were sentenced.

Detective Constable Garry Weston, of Bournemouth CID, said: “These two men were responsible for a number of thefts from cash machines not just across Dorset but elsewhere in the country.

“Thanks to the actions of the security staff at the Dolphin Centre, the Poole town centre camera team and the swift response of officers we were able to arrest them and bring them to justice for their offending.”