May 4, 2023 8.00 am This story is over 16 months old

How a cigarette butt unravelled a Romanian church lead theft syndicate

Operation Dastardly uncovers prolific church lead thieves

Operation Dastardly, an investigation into lead thefts from churches across Lincolnshire and the UK, recently saw the conclusion of the case against the final defendant, Madalin Prundaru, at Lincoln Crown Court. He was handed a 24-month community order.

In August 2016, three Romanians, Gigi Prundaru, aged 34, Laurentiu Rebeca, aged 27, and Madalin Prundaru, aged 26, were arrested in Lincolnshire after they fled the scene of a theft in progress at St Botolphs Church in Walcot near Sleaford. The group was linked to offences across Northamptonshire, Thames Valley, Norfolk, Lincolnshire, Leicestershire, Cambridgeshire, Suffolk, Bedfordshire, Wiltshire, and Hampshire between April and November 2016.

The three were arrested in Lincolnshire in the early hours of 26 August, 2016, after they left the scene of a theft in progress at St Botolphs Church in Walcot near Sleaford. Continue reading the full story on MyLocal Lincolnshire, the new home of The Lincolnite.

Read the full story on MyLocal Lincolnshire, our new home