UK Burglar Involved In Theft Worth Over A Million Dollars Caught By Apple AirTag

A serial burglar, responsible for several "sophisticated" burglaries across various locations in Britain, where he stole items exceeding 800,000 pounds ($1,009,132) in value, was ultimately caught due to an electronic tag placed within stolen luggage.

Mari Dinjaku, aged 38, was arrested at his residence in Wokingham, Berkshire. This breakthrough came about through the use of an Apple AirTag, discreetly inserted into a suitcase that had been stolen during a burglary 15 miles away from Dinjaku's house.

According to a statement by the Surrey Police, on January 5, a burglary was reported in Woking. The property had been searched, and a lime green suitcase, clothing, and jewellery had been stolen. An Apple AirTag left in the suitcase helped officers track it to Dinjaku's home address, where he was arrested. A search also uncovered walkie-talkies, false documents, a large amount of cash in several currencies, gloves and face coverings, and 15 mobile phones, one of which was in the area of the Woking burglary at the time of the offence."

The police department further mentioned that Dinjaku was also forensically linked to two vehicles near his home address. One of these was connected to a second burglary in Farnham in December 2022, where a car was stolen along with two safes containing jewellery-a loss believed to be in excess of 350,000 pounds. A walkie-talkie was recovered at this address, which was the same make and model as the set recovered in Wokingham, which had been missing a single walkie-talkie.

Dinjaku has been sentenced to six years in prison for his involvement in a conspiracy to commit burglary across Surrey and Manchester.

The investigating officer, PC Tom Hinch, said: "Mari Dinjaku caused significant distress and financial loss to the victims he burgled. These were serious offences, committed with significant planning and a disregard for the impact that breaking into somebody's home can have. He has rightly been given a significant custodial sentence. We continue to pursue criminals who conspire to commit offences of this nature in Surrey."