Romanian gang leader arrested near Aarhus – confessed to theft in British documentary
A 37-year-old Romanian gang leader who appeared in a Channel 4 documentary was caught in Denmark after thefts totalling over half a million kroner.
Internationally wanted theft kingpin caught in East Jutland
When police stopped a shop thief near Aarhus in September last year, they came face-to-face with one of Europe's most notorious theft ringleaders. TV 2 has revealed on the basis of a court judgment from November that the arrested man was 37-year-old Zeno Gugulan – internationally wanted and previously exposed in a British Channel 4 documentary.
In the documentary from 2024, Gugulan was identified as the leader of a group of criminal Romanians who stole goods worth more than a million kroner in British supermarkets. When Channel 4's journalists approached him on the street in Bucharest while he was fleeing British authorities, he admitted on camera to being behind thefts – and explained how the stolen goods were resold to Indians in England.
Thefts in Danish building material chains
The television exposé did not stop him. Instead, Gugulan travelled to Denmark, where he and a group of accomplices committed a series of thefts in Danish building material stores. Altogether, the group stole goods worth more than half a million kroner, according to the judgment from the District Court in Nykøbing Falster.
TV 2 has obtained surveillance footage from Jem & Fix in Varde, which shows how the Romanian thieves exploited a moment of inattention from a shop assistant and pulled a trolley filled with unpaid goods out of the shop – apparently unbothered by the fact that they were being filmed. The method was repeated at several other shops.
"We have plenty of pictures of them. But they are betting on being out of the country before we can find them," says Kasper Andersen, head of internal audit at Jem & Fix.
Warehouse of stolen goods found near Hammel
Gugulan and his group did not manage to leave Denmark in time. A few days after one of the thefts, police found a warehouse with stolen goods just outside Hammel in East Jutland. The case documents, which TV 2 has obtained from South Zealand and Lolland-Falster Police, show the discovery of shower fittings, garden machinery and tools. Some of the goods were packed in cardboard boxes – ready for forwarding.
Gugulan was arrested at the same time as his accomplices and sentenced in November to eighteen months' imprisonment and a twelve-year entry ban to Denmark.
A familiar European pattern
The judgment revealed a broad travel pattern: individuals in the gang have previously been convicted of theft in Romania, Spain, England, Germany, France, Sweden and Italy. Gugulan is still wanted by British authorities for his role in thefts in England, British police state in a response to TV 2.
Danish police first became aware that they had arrested an internationally wanted gang leader when TV 2 contacted them for comment.
"It does not surprise me that he is part of a larger network that has also operated in England," says Heidi Grandt Andresen, acting deputy inspector at the Immigration Control Department East, who investigated the case.
She describes it as a familiar pattern involving organised, travelling theft gangs who typically have convictions from other countries.
"It is similar to many other types of cases we deal with. They are in the country for a short period, and it involves cross-border theft crimes. They do it frequently and can carry out thefts from shops four or five times a day," she says.
Record number of Romanians convicted in Denmark
As TV 2 reported on Saturday, the number of Romanians convicted of burglary or theft in Denmark is at a record high. A case file from the Director of Public Prosecutions shows that 1,376 Romanians were convicted of theft or burglary last year – making Romania the country from which by far the most foreign thieves come.
Police have informed TV 2 that in most cases it involves organised, travelling criminals who target both shops and private homes. It is difficult to solve the cases, and it is typically only the foot soldiers in the criminal groups that police manage to arrest.
"It requires substantial international police cooperation to catch the ringleaders," Grandt Andresen emphasised.
Resale to networks abroad
Police know that stolen goods are sold both in and outside Denmark, but have difficulty mapping the gangs' business methods. However, the case against Gugulan provides a rare insight: when Channel 4's journalists confronted him in Bucharest, he himself explained how stolen goods were resold to Indians in England, who then sold them on further.
Other members of Gugulan's group have, according to British police, pointed him out to the authorities as the leader of the group, who together stole goods worth more than a million kroner in British supermarkets.
Source: TV 2 Nyheder