TWO Serbian men were put behind bars for a total of 12 years after committing a string of burglaries across West Surrey including Farnham and Haslemere. The pair were sentenced when they appeared at Guildford Crown Court on Wednesday, August 8, after being found guilty of conspiracy to burgle when they appeared at court in June after stealing from 14 homes and attempting to burgle 13 others. Artan Doda, 23, of Bramcote Avenue, Mitcham, was sentenced for a total of five years and his co- conspirator Fran Doda, 22 of no fixed address in south London was imprisoned for seven years. The burglaries were committed in the early hours of the morning between January and February last year at properties across West Surrey including Guildford, Ash, Farnham, Godalming, Haslemere, Milford and Shackleford. The pair would remove the windows from properties to break-in before helping themselves to laptops, digital cameras, mobiles, cash and bank cards. All told the value of the stolen goods amounted to over £20,000. Artan Doda was arrested after he was caught on camera in Thornton Heath when he was withdrawing money from a cash point machine with a cashcard stolen from one of the burglaries. The sentencing follows a detailed and thorough Surrey Police investigation. The officer leading the case, Det Cons Phil Leaver, said: "The fact that these offenders are now behind bars for a significant time reinforces how Surrey Police is specifically working to target burglars and take them off our streets. "Surrey is one of the safest places in the country and the rate of burglary in the west Surrey area is low. Surrey Police will continue to crack down on burglary to maintain this low rate and reduce it further." In addition Artan Doda also received 15 concurrent sentences of 12 months each for 11 counts of obtaining property by deception, two counts of theft and three counts of attempt theft in relation to the offences in west Surrey. Fran Doda also received two concurrent sentences of 18 months for two house burglaries committed in 2003 in Cheam and Harrow, plus a 12-month concurrent sentence for possession of 20 wraps of cocaine in south London in January this year. The judge also recommended that the pair from Serbia be deported at the end of their sentences.
