Channel 4 documentary reveals existence of Romanian 'Mafia' operating out of HQ in Northampton neighbourhood
A Channel 4 documentary has revealed the existence of a Romanian organised criminal gang operating out of a headquarters in a Northampton neighbourhood.
On Monday night, Channel 4 aired its documentary The Truth About Britain’s Shoplifting Epidemic as part of its well-regarded Dispatches investigative series.
In the episode, journalist Matt Shea exposes a group of shoplifters targeting Morrisons supermarkets across the country.
Shea uncovers that a house on Clare Street, in the Mounts, is being used as a “stash house” for stolen goods and accompanies Northamptonshire Police on a raid of the property.
Matt says: “Clearly, there is something going on in Northampton.” However, the operation is unsuccessful, with the suspects believed to have fled.
He adds: “One thing’s for certain, everything points to some kind of criminal network in Northampton. Our hunt for the ringleader of an organised shoplifting gang is taking us to Northampton.”
Continuing his investigation, Shea says: “Various social media connections lead to a group of men belonging to an organised crime group involved in smuggling, also based in Northampton. These men all have cross tattoos on their necks, a symbol of the Russian Mafia that has made its way into Romanian organised crime. We’ve traced these men to an address, which we can’t disclose, in Northampton, where they frequently hang out. I think they might know where Zeno is, but I don’t think I’ll just be able to walk in and ask.”
Shea then enlists the help of Romanian investigative journalist Victor Ilie, who goes undercover as a recent immigrant to befriend the men at the HQ and gather information about Zeno.
However, the operation ends abruptly when Victor messages Matt, waiting nearby, saying: “Dude, these guys are proper mobsters.”
Meeting Matt in an empty Mayorhold car park, Victor says: “My first impression was that they’re mafia bosses, not just some hungry burglars.”
Victor later confirms that one of the men at the headquarters is “one of the bosses of one of the most important criminal organisations in Bucharest.” He explains: “The mob has been investigated for street fights, loan sharking, tobacco smuggling, and human trafficking across Europe.”
Matt responds: “These are some pretty serious people, then. As serious as it gets, basically?” He then discovers that one of the men is a high-ranking member of a Romanian organised crime group known as the Kira Clan.
Shea brings in another Romanian journalist, Mircea Barbu, who visits the site pretending to be a goods driver seeking work.
Barbu describes the experience as “strange” and recalls how the men confiscated both of his phones upon entering. They also searched him, lifting his shirt, in what he described as a “scary” and “intimidating” encounter. He was surrounded by three large, tattooed, bald men.
“They’re huge,” Matt said. Barbu adds: “They’re definitely paranoid about new people. They thought I was a cop.”
Northamptonshire Police have been contacted for comment.
Matt then follows clues to Romania to find the ringleader of the gang, Zeno Gugulan, who is wanted in the UK. He tracks Gugulan back to Romania, tracing him to an address in Bucharest and confronts him.
During the confrontation, Gugulan admits that stolen goods are sold to a wholesale distributor in Bedford.
Matt questions him about the operation. Gugulan says: “They are being sold in the UK. You don’t know where things are sold? They are sold in England, to the Indians. There are 1,000 Romanian thieves in England. Why are you coming to my house? Everyone steals in England, and they sell it to the Indians. Why do they not go to the Indians to find the stolen goods?”
Matt presses him further, saying: “How do you sell £100,000 worth of stock from Morrisons without some kind of structure? Was there someone above you in charge of the operation?”
Gugulan responds, saying: “I don’t know. It was Bedford, Bedford, Bedford.”