A man who was in possession of 27 smartphones which were stolen during a Limp Bizkit gig has been jailed for 14 months.
Romanian Stefu Costel initially said he was looking after the bag containing the handsets for his brother’s friend, but pleaded guilty to handling stolen goods when the phones were found at his home just two days after the concert.
The phones, worth £9000, were taken from the crowd during Limp Bizkit’s February 2014 show at Manchester’s Academy and was the second time Costel had targeted music fans – he spent time in jail last year for stealing phones at the Reading festival.
Prosecuter Tim Greenald says: “They were not aware of the thefts when they took place but realised they had become victims during the night. It was an organised and planned theft, most likely committed by more than one person, with a degree of skill used.”
The handsets will now be returned to their owners.
Last week, Limp Bizkit made their new track Endless Slaughter free to download and will kick off a US tour in September.
