Police Hunting 'Wimbledon Prowler' Make An Arrest

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Man from Greater Manchester denies stealing £90,000 of jewellery from local homes

Police hunting the "Wimbledon prowler" thought to be behind a spate of burglaries in Wimbledon Village have charged a man from Greater Manchester.

The Met have charged Asdrit Kapaj, aged 41, from Altrincham, with six burglaries at residential properties in and around the Village between December 2012 and December 2018.

He was arrested on February 22, and has also been charged with one offence of going equipped for burglary.

Kapaj is reported to be a refugee who came to the UK to escape the war in Kosovo. He is also believed to run a number of fish and chip shops in the Timperley area of Greater Manchester.

He appeared before Wimbledon magistrates today (February 25) when he was charged with the offences at homes in the following locations (below). All alleged burglaries related to jewellery thefts.

Belvedere Grove: £20,000 burglary.

Bathgate Road: £50,000 burglary.

Drax Avenue: £5,000 burglary.

St Mary's Road: £15,000 burglary.

Church Road: Trespassing.

West Side Common: Trespassing.

The court heard that the theft of £20,000 worth of jewellery from a house in Belvedere Grove was alleged to have happened on Christmas Day in 2018.

The further charge of going equipped for burglary was alleged to have happened on February 22 - the day of his arrest.

When asked for his nationality in the court, he is reported to have replied "Yugoslavia". He pleaded not guilty to the seven offences, and was remanded in custody to appear before Kingston Crown court on March 22.

Police have been hunting a man - dubbed the 'Wimbledon Prowler' thought to be behind around 200 burglaries in the Wimbledon Village area. The Met said in a statement: "Enquiries remain ongoing into a number of burglaries in the Wimbledon Village area."

February 25, 2019