Dad and son stole £100k jewellery in house raids

A "dishonest career criminal" who worked with his son to steal more than £100,000 worth of jewellery from two homes has been jailed.

Neculai Nederi, 48, targeted the houses of two families in Fenham, Newcastle, last summer, which he knew to contain "high value Asian gold", the city's crown court heard.

The victims said they were "absolutely heartbroken and devastated" by the burglaries, with the jewellery being of high sentimental value and irreplaceable.

Nederi, a Romanian national with convictions across Europe, admitted burglary and was sentenced to three years and nine months in prison. His son was also charged but he failed to attend court, with an arrest warrant issued.

The first family left their home on the morning of 18 June to go on holiday, with Nederi breaking in just hours later through a patio door, prosecutor Saba Shan said.

He stole more than £50,000 worth of jewellery as well as designer handbags, fragrances and bank cards, the court heard.

A baby monitor in the house recorded him speaking on the phone to his son during the burglary in which he said he had "found" what he was looking for, the court heard.

On 4 July, Nederi and another man, who has not been identified, broke into another property from where they stole £52,000 worth of jewellery and watches, Shan said.

Subsequent investigations found Nederi's son had knocked on the door eight days earlier when no-one was in.

He then kept watch outside while the men ransacked four bedrooms, the court heard.

They were seen leaving in a blue Mazda, which was later found and searched by police, with forensic testing of a glove identifying Nederi, who was subsequently arrested in Greater London, the court heard.

In statements read to the court, the victims said the burglaries had caused huge upset with the stolen items all having high sentimental value, much having come from now-deceased relatives.

The first said she was "absolutely heartbroken and devastated" and felt unsafe in her home.

The second said the burglary was "completely heartbreaking" and she feared she was being watched by criminals.

"The devastation of strangers being in our house and the loss of property and emotional impact this has caused my family is irreversible," the woman said.

The court heard Nederi had 53 offences on his criminal record and had received jail terms totalling 24 and a half years in Romania, Germany and Belgium.

Recorder Mark McKone KC said Nederi was a "dishonest career criminal" and it was "shameful" the burglar had taught his son to be one as well.

He said there had been a "significant degree of planning" behind the burglaries, which targeted "high value Asian gold" Nederi would have known had "much sentimental value".

The judge said it was "not clear" why Nederi was not still in prison in Romania, where he was jailed for seven years in 2024, but he would be deported after the conclusion of his sentence in the UK.

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