A shopkeeper bound and beaten in a £400,000 jewellery raid today told how he was “seconds from death” during the ordeal.
Cristi-Adi Mandi and Alin-Viorel Dimofti, both 27, used a stun gun to knock their victim to the ground before punching and kicking him in the face.
The jeweller, who asked not to be named, was tied up with duct tape and throttled, escaping further injury only by “playing dead”, Southwark crown court heard.
“I was practically dead anyway,” he said. “The only difference between being dead and playing dead was a few seconds.”
The victim managed to free himself and call 999. Detectives found CCTV of the robbers visiting his store in Barking 10 days before the raid on December 27, 2016.
They stole gold jewellery worth £400,000, then immediately fled the UK via the Eurotunnel. In March Dimofti was arrested in France and Mandi was picked up in Italy.
Dimofti, from Watford, admitted conspiracy to rob and was jailed for eight years. Mandi, of no fixed address, was convicted of the same charge following a trial and jailed for 12 years. Both men were sentenced on Friday.
The victim added: “I suffered a lot, financially and mentally. The pain is always in my head.”
