Gang stole £2,500 in booze from two stores
SUPERMARKETS
A GANG dressed in hoodies and caps strolled into supermarkets and walked out with alcohol, taking booze worth more than £2,500 over four months.
Abdul Shah pleaded guilty to being involved in all the thefts when he appeared at Leicester Magistrates’ Court last Friday.
He admitted that in July last year he and other members of the gang stole £630 of alcohol from Asda in Thurmaston, then later the same month they stole £1,350 worth from Tesco in Ethel Road, Evington, in two incidents four days apart.
In September they returned to the same Tesco and took £400 worth of alcohol and they took a further £200 worth from the same store again in October.
The total value of those thefts was £2,580 and there was a further incident at the Tesco store in
July in which an unknown amount of alcohol was stolen.
The six thefts he admitted to were all caught on CCTV and Shah also stood to be sentenced for missing a drug treatment appointment in August and failing to appear for a court hearing in September.
Raza Sakhi, representing Shah, 41, of Vancouver Road, St Matthews, Leicester, said his client had been leading a law-abiding life and living with his parents but had been thrown out of their home in 2021.
He said: “In the period of Covid he started drinking.
“His parents condemned his drinking and ousted him from the family home. “For the next couple of years he was sofasurfing and this led to him meeting other people who were like-minded and he started drinking excessively and taking drugs.
“He has now made amends with his parents and returned home on the proviso he doesn’t take drugs or drink alcohol.”
Shah was given a 12-month community order with 140 hours of unpaid work and ordered to pay compensation to Asda and Tesco from his Universal Credit. The magistrates ordered him to pay £100 to Asda and £300 to Tesco.
DEFENDANT IS ORDERED TO COMPENSATE
His parents condemned his drinking and ousted him from the family home
Raza Sakhi, in mitigation