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Ecclestone burglary trial: Suspect 'searched for news' after thefts

PA Media/GettyImages Frank and Christine Lampard, Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha and F1 heiress Tamara EcclestonePA Media/GettyImages
The homes of Frank and Christine Lampard, Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha and Tamara Ecclestone and her husband were all broken into last December

A man accused of being part of a £26m burglary plot searched for news of thefts after the raid, a court has heard.

Emil Bogdan Savastru, 30, searched the internet for "burglaries in London" a week after three celebrities' homes were raided last December.

Prosecutors said Mr Savastru was part of the "supporting cast" in the plot.

Mr Savastru denies conspiracy to burgle and money laundering.

The jury at Isleworth Crown Court was told Mr Savastru also looked on the Metropolitan Police's website on 29 December.

Socialite Tamara Ecclestone's multimillion-pound property was the third high-end home to be targeted by a team of burglars between 1 and 13 December.

Watches were taken from the home of Chelsea manager Frank Lampard on 1 December and about £1m worth of goods were stolen from the family of former Leicester City chairman Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha in Knightsbridge on 10 December.

Prosecutors say Savastru and three other people were part of the "supporting cast" to the burglars, who cannot be named for legal reasons.

Savastru told the court that he had been introduced to two of the alleged burglars in December last year, but did not know of their supposed criminal dealings.

Two of the alleged burglars rented a home in Fulham, which Savastru also used occasionally.

Getty Images A Cartier bangle worth £80,000Getty Images
A Cartier bangle worth £80,000 was reportedly stolen in the burglary of Tamara Ecclestone's home

After the alleged burglars had left the UK, Savastru said he discovered a Tag Heuer Connected smart watch in a Rolex box, and a Louis Vuitton holdall, both of which were said to have been stolen during raids on celebrity homes in west London earlier that month.

Savastru told jurors he searched for evidence of burglaries in the area.

"It shocked me as odd that I saw the watch in the Rolex box," he said.

"If it wasn't left behind it could only have come from somewhere dodgy.

"The Met have a list on the website of items stolen, I wanted to check," he added.

Asked by defence counsel Adam Kane if he had checked with any of the alleged burglars about the origins of the watch, Savastru replied: "I did not, but seeing as nobody claimed it that's when I thought it might have a dubious origin."

The court also heard that when Savastru was arrested at Heathrow Airport on 30 January, he was wearing the Tag Heuer watch, which belonged to late Leicester City FC chairman Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha.

He also had the Louis Vuitton bag, identical to one stolen in the Ecclestone raid, in his possession.

The trial continues.