Iuliu Kubola, 61, is on the brink of jail after admitting to six wine thefts from high-end eateries in Mayfair, Belgravia, and the City of London. The ex-restaurant worker swiped thousands in booze – and got spotted loading pricey bottles into his pedal-powered tuk-tuk.

Caught Red-Handed with Stolen Wine

Judge Mark Lucraft KC delayed Kubola’s sentence at the Old Bailey to give him a chance to help police recover the missing wine. Some bottles were found on Kubola when he was arrested in June, pedalling through the City of London on his pedicab.

Asked why he nicked the wine, Kubola shrugged to police, “The wine is to drink, no?”

Six Burglaries and Thousands in Damages

Prosecutor Matthew Jolliffe laid out the spree: On May 1, Kubola broke into Mayfair’s Comptoir Cafe and Wine, making off with £6,000 worth of wine and £200 cash.

He hit Oliveto and Olivo in Belgravia twice, stealing more bottles and cash. Kubola also struck three times at Piazza Italiana on Threadneedle Street, wrecking a door and racking up £1,425 in repairs.

On one break-in, he cycled out of the City of London with a wheelie bin full of stolen wine, worth nearly £24,000. CCTV caught him returning days later to pinch more bottles and cash.

Previous Work and ‘Desperate’ Theft

Kubola, from Islington, used to work at some of the places he robbed but says he wasn’t paid properly. His lawyer Daisy Kell-Jones called his crimes “reckless and stupid” but said he wants to repay the restaurants.

“He made the reckless and stupid decision, rather than confronting the owners of these restaurants and asking for his salary, effectively decided to go in and take the salary for himself.”

Kubola has a past of shoplifting and driving offences. The judge warned he won’t hesitate to jail him if the missing wine isn’t recovered by the next hearing in November.

Kubola remains in custody while police hunt down the hoarded bottles, reportedly hidden at a wine merchant near Aldgate.