Pictured are Gheorge Constantine, left, and Manuel Scarlat, right.
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TWO men have been sentenced for cash machine thefts across the country, including in Swansea and Neath.
Manuel Scarlat, aged 18, and Gheorge Constantine, aged 44, both of Belchers Lane, Birmingham, were sentenced at Worcester Crown Court following a cross-border investigation into the thefts which targeted elderly and vulnerable people.
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They were arrested on March 10 this year after an elderly man was robbed whilst using a cash machine on Church Green East, Redditch.
Following the arrest, a subsequent investigation led to officers working with West Midlands Police, West Merica and North Wales Police after similar offences were also reported within these policing areas.
Seventeen offences were investigated in total throughout Wales and the Midlands.
Locations included Swansea, Bridgend, Cardiff, Coleshill, Leamington Spa, Neath, Porthcawl, Redditch, Rugby, Solihull, Stratford-Upon-Avon, Warwick and Wrexham.
During each offence, Constantine would drive both men to the offence locations, and Scarlat would then distract the victim whilst they were entering their pin number into a cash machine.
He would place a piece of paper across the screen and press the buttons underneath to withdraw £500.
As the money came out he collected it and then left the area.
The victims in most offences were mainly elderly or vulnerable people.
Overall, a combined amount of £6,520 was stolen.
Both men pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit theft.
Manuel Scarlat was sentenced to two years imprisonment and Gheorge Constantine was sentenced to twenty months.
Detective Sergeant Julian Kerslake said: "Scarlat and Constantine were organised in their deception and selective about their victims, they set about a carefully planned and cowardly enterprise across Wales and the Midlands.
"This investigation was extremely complex with offences committed in over 20 locations, covering four police force areas. It was a result of excellent witness statements that allowed us to identify the vehicle being used to commit these crimes and the investigative work of the Central policing priority team along with the support of colleagues from West Mercia Police, North Wales Police and West Midlands Police that enabled us to bring these offenders to justice."
Read more: http://www.southwales-eveningpost.co.uk/men-targeted-vulnerable-elderly-people-cash/story-29381095-detail/story.html#ixzz4BI99S7SF
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