Shoplifting gang who filled up 857 trollies stealing £130,000 of goods handed themselves in after police sent them ultimatum letter

A shoplifting household who travelled the state stealing 857 trollies of goods worthy £130,000 handed themselves successful aft constabulary issued an ultimatum.

For 2 years, the organised criminal gang toured Tesco supermarkets from Suffolk to Somerset, Surrey and Cornwall brazenly walking retired each clip aft filling arsenic galore arsenic 10 trollies to the brim.

The nationwide shoplifting spree mightiness person continued but for a diligent constabulary serviceman who noticed similarities successful 86 thefts crossed 13 constabulary unit areas.

He tracked down a household of 2 sisters and a daughter, moving with 3 different shoplifters and issued an ultimatum to the gang- manus yourselves successful wrong 2 weeks oregon look arrest.

The menace worked, with a lawyer contacting the unit wrong days offering to put constabulary interviews for the six.

This week the last members of pack were yet brought to justice, with the ringleaders receiving 3 years successful prison.

Police estimated that the pack had gotten distant with astatine slightest £130,000 worthy of stolen goods betwixt January 2022 and February 2024.

From the 55 trolleys that the pack were stopped from taking, constabulary were capable to cipher the mean worth of stolen goods astatine £628.

CCTV footage captured the raiders grabbing everything from toilet rotation and nappies to alcohol and cleaning products from the shelves, earlier strolling retired with nary effort to pay, and instantly returning to capable up different trolley load.

PC Ben Marshall from Surrey Police discovered that the pack were selling connected the goods astatine cut-down rates successful ‘their precise ain transgression supermarket chain’ aft helium investigated a theft from a store successful Guildford.

He worked retired that the pack would deliberately question important distances betwixt offences, hoping that the forces would not realise the 86 thefts were linked.

For 2 years the serviceman methodically gathered evidence, examining CCTV to place the six thieves, who were each surviving successful Essex.

PC Marshall was disquieted astir the likelihood of being capable to apprehension each six astatine once, truthful helium decided alternatively to nonstop them an ultimatum missive to accidental they were nether investigation, offering a two-week model to travel successful voluntarily oregon look arrest.

PC Marshall past travelled to Essex, conducting back-to-back interviews implicit the people of 1 17-hour-shift which led to each six being charged with conspiracy to perpetrate theft.

As a result, Jason Raven, 50, was jailed for 3 years aft stealing 188 trollies filled with £94,539 worthy of goods.

James Mytum, 41, besides received 3 years for taking 143 trollies filled with £71,910 worthy of goods.

Tania Patmore, 52, who took 231 trollies worthy £116,163, her younger sister Nicola Patmore, 50, who stole 152 trollies worthy £76,436, and girl Marlie Patmore, 29, who swiped 27 trollies with a worth of £13,576 were spared jail.

Tania and Nicola were handed two-year suspended sentences, portion Marlie received a 20-month suspended sentence. 

A 4th subordinate of the gang, Samantha Drum, who took 116 trollies worthy £58,332 besides received a two-year suspended sentence.

Judge Robert Fraser told the defendants: 'It mightiness not beryllium the astir blase transgression but it was remarkably bare-faced.

'The shoplifting astatine the level you were progressive successful caused precise important losses to the retailers affected and inevitably the costs are passed connected to consumers.'

Yesterday PC Marshall said: ‘I americium incredibly pleased that these individuals person present been held to relationship for years of deliberate and targeted offending.

‘I knew I had thing erstwhile I linked the archetypal fewer akin offences, but I had nary thought astatine the commencement of this however acold and wide this ‘simple’ shoplifting lawsuit successful Guildford would yet go.

‘These criminals assumed they could fell the breadth of their offending by travelling acold and wide crossed the southbound of England - but they were wrong.

‘Their sentences volition person a important interaction connected reducing their propensity and their quality to re-offend.’

Hannah Galloway from Tesco Security Hub thanked the diligent officer: ‘Thanks to the unthinkable enactment from Surrey Police during this investigation, these offenders who were targeting our stores up and down the state are nary longer.

‘This has made our stores safer for our customers, colleagues and communities successful general.’