Two men were jailed on Friday for their roles in a Northern Ireland wide organised shoplifting spree which over £22,000 worth of goods taken.
Romanian nationals Alberti Stoican, 25, and Marius Iulian Pascu, 22, both of no fixed abode, had admitted raiding Tesco and Asda stores across Northern Ireland stealing ink cartridges, razor blades and totalbrush heads.
Stoican was sentenced at Belfast Crown Court to two years, divided equally between custody and supervised licence, after he pleaded guilty to eight counts of theft, three of attempted theft and going equipped for theft.
Pascu was jailed for nine months with a similar period on licence after pleading guilty to eight counts of theft, three counts of attempted theft and going equipped for theft.
Prosecution lawyer Robin Steer told Belfast Recorder Judge Patricia Smyth: “There were a large number of offences committed against Tesco and Asda stores across Northern Ireland which can only be described as an organised shoplifting spree.”
He said the defendants had targeted stores between April 1 and April 12, 2022 in Ballymoney, Banbridge, two stores in Bangor, Belfast, Coleraine, Cookstown, Dungannon, Enniskillen, Larne, Lisburn, Lurgan and Portadown.
In three incidents, security gaurds foiled thefts after the defendants were captured on CCTV acting suspiciously near the ink cartridge section of the stores.
The court heard they were spotted putting items into a bag which had been lined with tinfoil and were carrying a magnet and a screwdriver. Mr Steer said that on April 6, 2022, they targeted a Tesco store in Lurgan and stole £2,700 worth of printer ink.
On April 11, the pair hit the Tesco Store in Portadown stealing printer ink, toothbrush heads and other items to the value of £2,854.10p. The prosecutor said the total value of items stolen from the 13 stores was £22,258.60p.
“They were eventually detected in a retail park where their vehicle was traced which ultimately led police to a lock up facility in Portadown,” said Mr Steer.
“The premises was searched under warrant where £9,000 worth of ink cartridges were found. The outstanding loss of goods is just over £13,000.”
Both defendants were arrested and during their interview they made no comment to police questions.
At a second interview, Pascu told police he had “come to Northern Ireland with the promise of papers and a job” but was told he had to carry out the thefts, adding: “It was wrong and I feel ashamed.”
While Pascu had no previous convictions, Stoican had two theft convictions in the Netherlands in November 2020 and a shoplifting conviction in September 2021 at Norwich Magistrates’ Court in England.
Both men made the case that they had been trafficked into Northern Ireland by a third man who has since absconded but this was disputed by the prosecutor who said there was no evidence to support their claims.
Jailing the defendants, the Belfast Recorder said: “Clearly this was an organised operation. Each defendant was part of a group targeting these stores and there were a serious number of offences.”
Judge Smyth added that both defendants are now likely to be deported to Romania after they complete their prison sentences.
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