MIGRANT CRISIS: Deported ATM thief jailed after illegally returning to the UK and stealing £16,000 from 180 cash machines

UK News MIGRANT CRISIS Deported ATM thief jailed after illegally returning to the UK and stealing £16,000 from 180 cash machines Peter Norman A prolific thief who illegally returned to Britain after being deported has been jailed for three-and-a-half years after stealing more than £16,000 from at least 180 cash machines across the country.

Bogdan Gasparov, 40, a Moldovan national with previous convictions for similar offences, targeted unsuspecting bank customers using homemade devices designed to trap cash inside ATMs.

His five-month crime spree took him across England, Scotland and Wales before detectives tracked him to a property in Dagenham, east London, where he was found hiding in a loft.

Gasparov had previously been deported from the UK but returned in breach of a deportation order.

He was sentenced at Chelmsford Crown Court on Monday, 9 November, after admitting theft, possessing articles for use in fraud and knowingly entering the UK in breach of a deportation order.

The Eastern Region Special Operations Unit (ERSOU) established that Gasparov had been stealing from cash machines between May and October 2026.

His offences included locations in Harlow, Essex, as well as Bury St Edmunds, Lowestoft and Sudbury in Suffolk.

Other cash machines were targeted in Great Yarmouth, Huntingdon and Peterborough.

The investigation also linked Gasparov to offences near Nottingham, Oxford, Bristol, Derby, Gloucester, Lincoln and across the West Midlands, along with locations in Scotland and Wales.

Police said his method involved appearing to carry out a legitimate banking transaction before attaching a homemade cash-trapping device.

When customers subsequently attempted to withdraw money, the device prevented the banknotes from being dispensed.

Gasparov would return later, remove the device and take the trapped cash.

Investigators calculated that he stole more than £16,000.

Detectives from ERSOU’s Proactive Economic Crime Team examined CCTV recordings from multiple cash machines.

The footage repeatedly showed Gasparov at locations where thefts had occurred, allowing officers to link him to the offences.

On 8 October, police executed a search warrant at his home in Hardie Road, Dagenham.

Officers found him attempting to hide in a crawl space inside the loft.

A subsequent search of his vehicle uncovered clothing seen in CCTV footage, several homemade cash-trapping devices and equipment used to manufacture them.

Detectives also discovered that Gasparov had used several aliases.

The investigation established that Gasparov had previously been convicted of similar offences and deported from Britain.

Despite the deportation order, he had returned to the country illegally and resumed stealing from cash machines.

Within 24 hours of his arrest, he appeared at Chelmsford Magistrates’ Court and pleaded guilty to two counts of theft from an ATM, covering his wider offending.

He also admitted possessing articles for use in fraud and knowingly entering the UK in breach of a deportation order.

At Chelmsford Crown Court on 9 November, he was sentenced to three years and six months in prison.

He is expected to face a further deportation hearing after his release from custody.

Detective Sergeant Mike Simpson, from ERSOU’s Proactive Economic Crime Team, said:

“This was not opportunistic offending. Gasparov carried out a calculated campaign of theft, targeting cash machines across the country and repeatedly returning to steal money that belonged to unsuspecting customers.”

The detective said Gasparov’s previous deportation and subsequent illegal return made the offending particularly serious.

“He clearly believed he could stay one step ahead of investigators. He couldn’t,” DS Simpson added.

Police said the investigation demonstrated how CCTV evidence and coordinated enquiries across several regions had helped identify the offender and bring him before the courts.

Gasparov will now serve his prison sentence, with further immigration proceedings expected to follow.

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