A jury has heard how a CCTV camera was shot with an air rifle and a motion sensor was taped over by an apparent “inside man” before a £200,000 heist at a John Lewis warehouse.
Przemslaw Chyla, aged 26, and Krzysztof Bogszewski, aged 33, stand accused of conspiring to help a gang of burglars raid the firm’s national distribution centre, based at Brackmills, in Northampton, on Saturday, October 29, 2011.
A gang stole iPads, Mac Books and electrical items worth more than £200,000 in a “planned, organised raid”.
A trial at Northampton Crown Court heard both Chyla and Bogszewski, who are accused of being the “inside men”, had been working on the evening of the raid.
Chyla, who was a manager at the warehouse, had effectively been in charge on the night of the burglary, while Bogszewski, a warehouse porter, was also working on the 2pm–10pm Saturday shift.
The warehouse closed at 10pm on the night of the raid until 1.30pm the following day, when the burglary was discovered.
The gang had constructed a makeshift “tunnel” across the huge warehouse to hide from CCTV cameras, while white tape was placed over a security sensor. A back door was cut in half, meaning an alarm was not triggered, while an outside CCTV camera was shot at using an air gun.
Prosecuting, Andrew Copeland, said: “The prosecution’s case, in a nutshell, is that these two gentlemen are the inside men. This burglary could not have been carried out without a person who placed the white piece of sticky tape on the sensor. Their roles, the prosecution say, are vital to this burglary. ”
Chyla, of Pleydell Gardens, Far Cotton, and Bogszewski, of Wellington Street, both deny the charges. Four other men have already admitted their roles in the raid.
Marcin Bakowski, aged 30, Piotr Kozlowski, aged 31, Lukasz Srodecki, aged 32, Vitalijs Razadovskis, aged 26, will all be sentenced at a later date.
The trial continues.