A foreign national who turned to crime after he lost the right to work in the UK was captured at an airport trying to flee the country after years on the run.

Jorge Soto Gomez, aged 31, of no fixed address, was caught at Luton Airport on March 23 while he was on the run for crimes he committed two years ago.

Soto Gomez, a Chilean national, was jailed for six months at Amersham Law Courts yesterday afternoon (Monday) after he pleaded guilty to charges of going equipped for burglary and failing to attend court.

The court heard how in February 2020, Soto Gomez was in a car with two other men which was pulled over by police in Gerrards Cross.

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Inside the vehicle, officers discovered a mallet, a drill bit, wire cutters and torches, which Judge Geoffrey Payne described as being “clearly for the use of breaking into properties.”

The court heard how “disguises” were also found in the car – namely balaclavas, caps and gloves.

Judge Payne told the court how one of the men in the vehicle had since been acquitted and how the other had absconded from custody.

Following his arrest in 2020, Soto Gomez pleaded not guilty to the charge against him and was granted bail. He was due to appear in court in July 2020, but did not turn up and could not be tracked down by police.

On March 23 this year, after nearly two years on the run, Soto Gomez was arrested at Luton Airport and has been in police custody since. After his arrest, he pleaded guilty to going equipped for burglary and failing to attend court.

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The court heard how Soto Gomez is a Chilean national with a wife and young children in his home nation. He originally moved to the UK to find work to support his family, but when his visa expired he was no longer able to work, looking instead to a new life of crime.

Sentencing him, Judge Payne said: “Burglary causes misery to people, people are entitled to feel safe in their homes and people going around in balaclavas with wire cutters and drill bits causes people to feel unsafe in their homes.

“The courts have to show that people must turn up for their trials when the court requires them to attend.”

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