Two charges have been brought after Ann Summers was burgled, with one suspect linked to another burglary too.
Response officers arrested two suspects within three minutes of being dispatched to a burglary at the Nottingham city centre shop.
The Long Row-based store had around £12,000 worth of stock – including lingerie and sex toys – stolen during the early hours of Friday (14 August) morning.
Staff raised the alarm at 4.35am after reviewing the CCTV and seeing that two people had been going in and out of the store at different stages throughout the night.
Jason Kamal, 48, and Ashley Hillsley, 20, were both spotted and arrested nearby at 4.38am after police felt they matched the descriptions of the suspects.
A parked car was then tracked down soon after, which – when searched – was found to contain a considerable amount of Ann Summers stock in the boot.
Having brought both suspects into custody, officers then further arrested Kamal after linking him to a second break-in two weeks earlier, in the early hours of 28 July.
On that occasion, around £13,000 worth of electronic devices and other items were taken from a mobile phone repair shop based in Front Street, Arnold.
Kamal, of no fixed address, has since been charged with two counts of burglary and was remanded in custody during an appearance at Nottingham Magistrates’ Court on Saturday (15 August).
He is next due to appear before Nottingham Crown Court on 11 September.
Meanwhile, Hillsley, of Big Barn Lane, Mansfield, was charged with the Ann Summers burglary and has been released on conditional bail ahead of an appearance at Nottingham Magistrates’ Court on 17 September.
These charges come as Operation Reclaim continues in Nottingham city centre.
Launched in May, the operation is a partnership approach to relentlessly targeting criminals who use the city centre to commit crime.
Nottinghamshire Police are using the Home Office tactic called Clear, Hold, Build, through which we make the environment as hostile as possible for criminals to operate in and ensure the vacuum cannot be filled once they are arrested and charged.
Chief Inspector Kylie Davies, of Nottinghamshire Police, said:
“Taking the city centre burglary first, the officers responding to that call did a great job of responding as quickly as they did.
“Within three minutes of being dispatched to this report, the response team in attendance had located two suspects and placed them in handcuffs.
“A substantial amount of stock was taken during this incident, so it was pleasing to be able to secure charges against two suspects.
“Approximately £25,000 worth of items were stolen in total when you combine these two separate break-ins, which really outlines the impact commercial burglaries can have on businesses and why we treat reports of this nature so seriously.”
