Morrisons worker used till trick to slowly steal 'around £80k' to fund drug habit
A man used a till trick to steal 'around £80,000' worth of cash from the Morrisons supermarket where he worked to fund his drug habit.
Scott Winter, who was an employee at the retailer's branch in Park Road in Coleshill, Warwickshire, raised suspicions through his repeated and excessive use of the voucher button on the till.The company's loss prevention manager was told about the transactions and attended the store to observe Winter on CCTV.
Winter, 49, of Revesby Walk in Duddeston, Birmingham, was then seen removing cash from the tills and putting it into his pocket, before visiting the toilet.He was intercepted on the way out of the toilet before being taken to a holding room where, during an internal company interview with store security, he gave a full admission to stealing money from the store.
Warwickshire Police said the money had been removed from the tills using a tender swap process.
A force spokesperson said: "Winter would go to each till on the shopfloor before pressing the coupon button and entering the amount he wanted to take from the till, usually around £150.
"He would then put the money into his wallet while in the toilets and out of view."On the day he was caught, Winter had approximately £400 on him from this process.
"Previous CCTV footage confirmed that Winter had been carrying this process out on a regular basis."The thefts had begun at the same time he started at the store in August 2021, police added.
Morrisons representatives estimated that Winter stole around £80,000 in cash over the course of two years before he was arrested on June 9 this year.
Winter was reportedly shocked by this but on reflection said it could reasonably be an accurate figure.
The money was used to go towards Winter’s bills, debts, and to fund a crack and cannabis drug habit costing a few hundred pounds per day.Winter, who pleaded guilty to theft by employee, was sentenced to 14 months in prison at Warwick Crown Court on Wednesday (Dec 6).
PC Stephen Taylor, of Warwickshire Police, said Winter knew what he was doing was wrong and admitted to it readily.
PC Taylor added: "But that didn’t stop him from pocketing tens of thousands of pounds before getting caught.
"If it hadn’t been for robust processes and vigilant shop staff at the supermarket, he might never have been caught at all.“The steel grip of illicit drugs like crack cocaine on people’s lives, pushing them towards criminality, is more than visible here.
"Winter has received 14 months to consider what route he wants to take for his life in future, and we hope that he finds the help he needs to get clean and be better.”