Tottenham men caught with £20,000 stolen beer kegs spared jail

Painter Mihai Boje, 41, of Shelbourne Road, and accomplice Vasile Morar, 31, of Seymour Avenue, were stopped by police on February 7, 2010, who spotted their Chrysler Voyager people carrier cruising through the area loaded with metal beer kegs.

They were found guilty of handling stolen goods, and cleared of theft, despite denying all charges against them. Detective Superintendent Paul Hoare said: "As the direct result of patrolling officers carrying out a stop on a suspicious vehicle and the subsequent investigation, police recovered about £20,000 worth of stolen property and two men have been convicted for handling stolen goods."

Eagle-eyed officers flagged down the car, driven by Boje, in Asplins Avenue to find it contained 20 empty beer kegs.

A quick check on the vehicle showed it was linked to a beer keg heist in west London the year before arousing suspicion.

Boje and his passenger, who was cleared of all wrongdoing, were arrested and Boje's house was searched.

Officers found Morar with 100 similar kegs prized for the valuable aluminium they are made with. When Morar's house was searched they found 30 more kegs and two vans linked to the defendants recovered 150 more.

The pair appeared at Wood Green Crown Court, in Lordship Lane, for sentencing on July 19 and received a nine-month suspended sentence over a two-year period, 180 hours of community service and £750 costs.