GYOV: LANDMARK BURGLAR GETS THREE YEARS
A gambling addict who carried out a spate of break-ins at a series of high-profile London landmarks has been jailed for three years.
Among Mustafe Gyov’s targets were the exclusive Reform Club, the five-star Royal Horseguards Hotel, and the 18th Century Spencer House, which is owned by Lord Rothschild.
In total the 21-year-old burgled eight properties in three weeks and stole around £7,000 worth of laptops, cameras and cash, Southwark Crown Court heard.
He was also jailed for an attempted break in at a flat in Harley Street flat and the theft of a purse from a West-End casino.
Prosecutor Gavin Ludlow Thompson said: ‘The defendant committed a spate of, we suggest, highly sophisticated and targeted burglaries during the course of May.
‘The offences were significantly aggravated by two significant features, one; a high degree of professionalism and two; the targeting of extremely valuable premises, which included government premises and even the Reform Club, in Pall Mall, there were also high value premises hit in Regents Park.’
‘In the commercial burglaries, of which there are eight, the modus operandi in virtually every case was the same.
‘He carries around equipment and uses what appears to be specialist yellow and green tape to mask the windows, in order to stop them shattering and reduce the sound, which in the case of the Reform Club and the Institute of Government, in Carlton Gardens, for example, he has taken a considerable amount of effort in just being able to reach at all, crossing through gardens and climbing walls.’
Mr Ludlow Thompson said that during the break in at the exclusive gentlemen’s club he was challenged by a security guard but convinced him he was a ‘vagrant type looking for food’ and escaped.
‘In the other cases he successfully entered the premises and would remove valuable items such as laptops, cameras and cash.’
The court heard that Gyov raided the Industry and Parliament Trust, in Whitehall, a property in Charles Street, Westminster Parks Office, and the head offices of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s company The Really Useful Group, in Tower Street.
Gyov was eventually caught after he stole a purse from a customer at the Empire Casino, in Leicester Square, and was arrested.
Police linked him to all eight burglaries using finger print and DNA evidence.
Jailing Gyov Judge John Price said: ‘There are severe aggravating features as this man acted as a professional, he targeted very expensive looking premises and he carried with him tape and cutting equipment.’
Gyov, of no fixed address, pleaded guilty to eight counts of burglary, one count of attempted burglary and one count of theft.
ENDS
