Tuk-tuk wine thief given two weeks to return stash – Matthew Jolliffe prosecutes for the Crown
A pedicab driver who targeted several high-end restaurants in London and stole wine and cash in excess of £31,000 has been told by a judge to help the police recover the items he stole.
Judge Mark Lucraft KC adjourned Iuliu Kubola’s sentencing until 3 November 2025, to give him time to make good on his promise to find the missing wine.
Upon arrest, Kubola, 61 from Islington, was found to have an angle grinder, spanner, screwdriver, crowbars and bottles of alcohol in his pedicab, and in interview he told the police the wine was intended to be drunk.
The court heard that he had previously worked for two of the restaurants he stole from, and claimed he had not been paid.
Matthew Jolliffe, prosecuting, applied for a compensation order for £31,393.20 on behalf of the restaurant, to cover the stolen goods and damage caused by the burglar.