Men to appear in court after 50 lead thefts from church roofs

The men have been charged with conspiracy to steal between August 2018 and March 2020 and offences in relation to the Proceeds of Crime Act of retaining, converting or distributing criminal property.

The majority of the thefts are said to have taken place in Lincolnshire, including Stamford.

The men were arrested on Friday, March 20.

Those arrested and charged were:

. Paul Buica, aged 25, of George Street, Birmingham

. Constantin Motescu, aged 31, of Stebbings, Sutton Hill, Telford

. Luarentiu Sucea, aged 38, of George Street, Birmingham.

They have all been remanded in custody to appear at Lincoln Crown Court on April 20 pending the current situation with the coronavirus.

Chief inspector Phil Vickers said: “The three men charged were arrested as a result of the Operation History enquiry – they were arrested by Warwickshire Police on our behalf and brought back to Grantham Police Station.

“As a result of the Operation History investigation, the three men have each been charged with a conspiracy offence and proceeds of crime offences. The conspiracy includes over 50 incidents where lead was stolen from church roofs, the majority of those being in Lincolnshire, but with others outside of the county too. At this time enquiries continue and we anticipate that further thefts will be linked.”