Shoplifter caught stealing £60,000 worth of products from numerous Boots stores

A shoplifter who stole £60,000 worth of products from numerous Boots stores has been jailed for four years.

Alexandru-Iulian Dima, 25, travelled the length and breadth of the UK on his crime spree, but it came to an end when plain-clothed police officers arrested him in Pontypridd.

South Wales Police said officers had mounted a sting operation, believing their town would soon be targeted by the travelling criminal.

Staff at the Boots store spotted Dima inside their shop and alerted police using a radio system used by retailers across the town, which gives them direct access to patrolling officers.

Dima made a run for it but couldn’t evade officers, who caught him in a nearby car park.

It brought an end to a campaign of shoplifting across the UK. In just 12 months, he stole £60,000 worth of products from Boots stores in Wales, England and Scotland.

On Thursday, 8 August, he was jailed at Cardiff Crown Court for four years after earlier pleading guilty to 32 shoplifting offences.

A deportation order means he will return to Romania immediately after he is released, police said.

PC Liam Noyce: "We looked at intel around his offending and chose the day we believed he’d come to town.

"Lo and behold, we had the call from staff at Boots and we arrested him, bringing an end to the campaign of crime committed in towns and cities the length and breadth of the UK.

"We understand how vital retailers both large and small are to the town and are determined and committed to ensure they are protected from criminality.”

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