Four suspected shoplifters were arrested after a car containing hundreds of pounds worth of stolen goods was followed from a supermarket car park.
Officers were called to Tesco, in Oaktree Lane, Mansfield, at 2pm on Monday 27 January after coffee pods and laundry products were taken by a group of people who then left the store.
A silver car was tracked leaving the area and was later pulled over in Annesley Cutting, Annesley Woodhouse where multiple suspects were detained.
Four men, aged 42, 31, 29 and 25, along with a 22-year-old woman – all from the West Midlands area – were arrested on suspicion of theft.
Bags of stolen goods were recovered from inside.
Inspector Kylie Davies, district commander or Mansfield, said:
“Most of the shoplifting offences in Mansfield are committed either by local offenders stealing to fund drug and alcohol addictions, or by more organised groups travelling to the area from further afield.
“With this in mind, we have worked closely with local retailers over the last year or so to improve our collective response to this issue and make our town a less attractive target to shop thieves.
“In practice that means the timely reviewing of CCTV footage and – as in this case – the swift sharing of vehicle details.
“This increased resilience is making the area less and less attractive to shop thieves and has contributed to a very significant decline in offences over the last 12 months.”
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