Shoplifter stole chocolates worth £5,000 in nationwide spree

A cocoa thief stole astir £5,000 worthy of confectionery connected a shoplifting spree crossed England.

Ionit Rova, 20, targeted 9 Tesco stores and an Aldi supermarket betwixt August and January arsenic helium criss-crossed the state plundering thousands of pounds worthy of chocolate.

The serial shoplifter was jailed for 10 weeks astatine Reading magistrates’ court.

Magistrates heard Rova stole £800 worthy of items from Tesco successful Daventry, Northants, connected August 20.

The pursuing month, the transgression stole £800 of items from Tesco successful Amersham, Bucks,, past £600 worthy of chocolates from different Tesco successful Princes Risborough, Bucks, 3 days later.

On Oct 15, Rova stole £500 worthy of confectionery from Tesco successful Faringdon, Oxfordshire – and connected Hallowe’en stole £400 worthy of cocoa from Tesco successful Warfield, Berks.

On Nov 13, helium stole £600 of items from Tesco successful Swaffham, Norfolk, and aboriginal connected the aforesaid time shoplifited £300 worthy of items from a Tesco store successful Dereham, Norfolk.

On Nov 25, Rova stole £502.50 worthy of items from a Tesco successful Leatherhead, Surrey.

He struck different Tesco successful Oakham, Rutland, connected Dec 2, stealing £672 worthy of items, earlier yet stealing £238.14 of items from Aldi successful Wokingham, Berks, connected Jan 18.

At his sentencing connected Feb 17, Rova was told his jailhouse word had been reduced from 45 weeks due to the fact that helium admitted the thefts.

Stores deed by shoplifting crisis

Latest Home Office figures uncover the fig of shoplifting offences going unsolved has risen by astir a 5th successful a year. Around 270,000 shoplifting cases successful England and Wales were closed without a fishy being identified successful the twelvemonth to September 2024.

Just 88,165 shoplifting offences past twelvemonth resulted successful a complaint oregon summons – 18 per cent of each cases, according to an investigation of Home Office information by the Liberal Democrats past month.

Separate figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) amusement that wide offences successful the twelvemonth to June 2024 deed astir 470,000 – up 29 per cent connected the erstwhile year.

There are much than 9,000 shoplifting offences a week, oregon 1,290 a day, and much than 2 a infinitesimal based connected mean UK store opening times of 10 hours a day, the figures show.

These figures are the highest since records began successful March 2003, with retailers informing the situation adds astatine slightest 6p to each store transaction by customers.

Lisa Smart, the Lib Dem location affairs spokesman, antecedently said: “For excessively long, shopkeepers person been near susceptible portion transgression gangs are allowed to run with virtual impunity.

“Our precocious streets and communities merit amended than this. If the Government wants to present safer streets, getting a grip connected the unsolved shoplifting epidemic indispensable beryllium a priority.

“The Liberal Democrats are urging the Government to support their committedness by restoring due assemblage policing – with much bobbies connected the bushed focused connected stopping and solving crime.”

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