A shoplifter who stung a string of Nottinghamshire health food stores as part of a 24-hour theft spree has been jailed.
Ilie Varnescu struck at five Holland and Barrett stores across Nottinghamshire and Leicestershire during the same day.
The serial thief filled his coat pockets with thousands of pounds worth of probiotics and other health items on 12 November 2023.
Each theft happened right under the noses of staff during trading hours, with Varnescu pretending to be a customer while swiping stock from the shelves.
He then walked out without paying – stealing from the branches in Nottingham city centre, Sherwood, Beeston, Mansfield, and Loughborough one after the other.
In total, Varnescu helped himself to around £5,000 worth of stock in a day, although this represented only part of the prolific shoplifter’s spree.
These five thefts came days after Holland and Barrett stores in Chesterfield, Derbyshire, and Hinckley, Leicestershire, were also targeted on 3 November and 12 November.
Health products were also taken from branches in Crewe, Cheshire, on 13 November, and Lancaster, Lancashire, on 3 March 2024.
Varnescu also shoplifted from a Co-op store in Egremont, Cumbria, on 21 October 2023.
Nine Holland and Barrett stores, along with the tenth Co-op shop, were targeted during the cross-border spree. Between them, they lost more than £9,000 worth of stock.
The 50-year-old shoplifter was tracked down and arrested soon after his final offence in March.
He would go on to be charged with ten counts of thefts in total – all of which he admitted to in court.
Varnescu, of School Road, Billesley, Birmingham, appeared at Nottingham Crown Court on Tuesday (7 May), where he was sentenced to three years in prison.
PC Abby Pinnock, of Nottinghamshire Police, said: “Varnescu is a career shoplifter who knew exactly what he was doing when he decided to target each of these stores.
“In the space of one day alone, he swiped thousands of pounds of probiotics and other health items from the shelves of five different shops.
“This was part of a spree that saw Varnescu steal from ten separate stores – nine of which were from the same chain – and pocket more than £9,000 worth of stock.
“Stores across six different counties, including Nottinghamshire, were affected by Varnescu’s offending, with our team collaborating with multiple other forces to bring him to justice.
“Shoplifting is a plague on the high street that can have huge implications on people’s livelihoods, while also impacting how much people have to pay for items too.
“Bearing all of this in mind, we were delighted to see the judge in this case impose such a hefty sentence on Varnescu.”
