Overview
- Bogdan Gasparov was sentenced to three years and six months in prison at Chelmsford Crown Court on Monday, November 9 for his role in the campaign.
- Police say Gasparov fitted homemade cash‑trapping devices to ATM slots so dispensed notes were held for him to collect later, a tactic that targeted customers rather than banking systems.
- Officers identified him from CCTV across England, Scotland and Wales and executed a warrant at his Hardie Road, Dagenham home on October 8 where he was found hiding in a loft crawl space.
- Searches of his vehicle and property recovered multiple homemade traps, clothing worn in offences and tools; he pleaded guilty to theft from ATMs, entering the UK in breach of a deportation order and possessing articles for use in fraud.
- Investigators say he used several aliases, had past convictions for similar offences and returned to the UK after deportation, and authorities expect a deportation hearing once his sentence ends as part of efforts to deter organised cash‑trapping crime.