'I go to prison to go on holiday': Boast of Romanian gang who conducted £1million gold robbery campaign by tricking their way into jewellers wearing pinstripe suits Ten thieves came to Britain with 'sole purpose of committing robbery' Targeted Indian and Turkish jewellers in London and Essex for gold Caught during raid in Turnpike Lane by Met police Flying Squad All admit conspiracy to rob and will be sentenced at the Old Bailey tomorrow A Romanian gang wore pin-striped suits to trick their way into jewellers and carry out a £1million robbery campaign, a court heard. The Old Bailey heard today how the ten thieves came to Britain with the sole purpose of committing crime. After targeting a series of Indian and Turkish jewellers in London and Essex, the gang was finally caught red-handed as they attempted to rob another shop in north London in September last year. Targeted: The gang stole almost £250,000 worth of jewellery from Asha jewellers in Ilford, Essex, in April last year The court heard that as they were rugby tackled to the ground by officers from the Met's Flying Squad, one of the gang members Ovidiu Gabor, 25, told them: 'I don't care I go to prison to be on holiday.' Prosecutor Jonathan Polnay said: 'It appears that all came to this country with the sole purpose of committing robberies and taking part in this particular conspiracy.' These were not people who had come here for work and got diverted. This is effectively a professional gang who came here to rob. The gang targeted Indian and Turkish jewellers because they held large quantities of gold which could be melted down. Jewellery which was suitable for the Romanian market was sold on market stalls and to pawn shops across the eastern European country. In each raid a smartly dressed man in a Trilby or a pin-striped suit would buzz the door to entry and then hold open the door to allow the others to run in with sledgehammers. Within minutes the gang would smash open the cabinets, grab as much jewellery as possible. They would run off across nearby railway lines, knowing that it was thought too dangerous for police to chase them. Catalin Paise, 19, Puiu-Danut Paunescu, 26, Marius Barbu, 25, Vasile Batarga, 23, Iulian Culba, 22, Ovidiu Gabor, 25, Ioan Gavrilit, 26, Constantin Irina, 30, Gheorghe Macovei, 23, and Iulian Roman, 21, are now all facing jail after pleading guilty to conspiracy to rob. Guilty: The ten Romanian thieves will be sentenced at the Old Bailey in London tomorrow The Old Bailey heard a police officer had spotted ten Romanians with hammers and an axe on waste ground next in Wembley, northwest London, on March 26 last year. Two days later they raided a jewellers in Copland Road, Wembley, and got away with £511,287. A man approached the shop in a pin-striped suit and was let in through the first security door by staff. He then held the door open so three men wearing ski masks could burst in and smash through the second security door using sledgehammers. One of the robbers shouted: "Go down, go down or I will kill you" and another swore in Gujarati. The staff managed to activate the panic alarm and smoke system but the robbers got away after setting a car on fire to divert the attention of the public and the emergency services. Police later recovered clothing thrown away by the gang as they fled and found a DNA link to Barbu, Macovei and Gavrilit. On April 5 the gang took £248,659 worth of gold from Asha jewellers in Ilford, Essex, using the same method. "The door was buzzed by a man dressed in a smart suit and trilby hat," said Mr Polnay. The man held the door open and repeatedly wiped his feet. Then three or four men burst in through the open door and smashed their way in through the airlock. Staff fled into the back room and locked the door. They could see on CCTV the shop being cleaned out. Detectives again recovered clothing linking Batarga and Barbu to the attack as well as three holdalls containing £73,146 of jewellery buried in a hole in the ground. On August 25 last year the gang struck at Pakeeza jewellers on Green Street in East Ham and stole gold worth £341,545. The gang next planned to raid a jewellers on Walworth Road near Elephant and Castle in south London on August 31 but backed out when a fire engine drew up by chance nearby. Caught: The gang were rugby-tackled to the ground by police after attempting to raid Sabha jewellers in Turnpike Lane, north London Nearly two weeks later on September 12 Flying Squad officers watched the gang leaving the campsite and travelling by bus first to Romford and then Ilford and Stoke Newington. They were seen to stake out the shop in Butterfield Green but the gang backed out because of a large police presence in the area by coincidence. Three days later on September 15 the gang were watched as they attacked Sabha jewellers in Turnpike Lane, north London. Batarga, wearing sunglasses and a trilby hat, buzzed his way in followed by the rest of the gang. One of the robbers hit an elderly customer, Mohammed Hussain, with a sledgehammer on the knee to knock him to the ground. Mr Hussain said in a statement he had lived in the UK for 42 years and added: "I never had any problems with anybody. This incident has changed my entire life. The gang were arrested as they tried to leave the shop with £62,587 worth of jewellery. Gabor was rugby-tackled to the ground and arrested. When asked about the attack on Mr Hussain, he told officers: "**** him. I'm not interested. Paise was later arrested at the campsite and told officers He had only come to the UK to see the Paralympic Games. He said he didn't know any of the others in the gang and added: "I haven't come to this country to steal from people. It is a sin to do that. Roman also pleaded guilty to a £1million jewellery robbery in Handsworth, Birmingham, in February last year. Two men have already been sentenced. The court heard all ten robbers were living on a campsite in woodland near Gallows Corner in Romford, Essex. They were remanded in custody to be sentenced tomorrow.