An organised gang of shoplifters used sophisticated electronic devices to steal computer games worth hundreds of pounds from Tesco stores in Dundee, the sheriff court has heard.
Two men and a woman from Romania were jailed by Sheriff Mundy for their part in the crime spree, after being detected through CCTV when staff became concerned about the high number of games which had gone missing.
The devices are believed to have deactivated the security alarms on the store exits.
London-based threesome Mariana Dobre (32), Gheorge Marius Strujan (42) and Lulian Vinatoru (30), all no fixed abode, admitted that on March 1, at Tesco, South Road, they stole a quantity of computer games. Strujan and Vinatoru also admitted similar thefts on March 3.
Depute fiscal Trina Sinclair told the court more than £700 worth of games were stolen on the first charge and £591 on the second.
”It’s believed they are part of an organised group targeting the UK,” she said. ”They used electronic devices with security barriers and a notepad with postcodes was also recovered, all of which related to Tesco stores.
”Deportation notices have been served on all three accused,” she said.
Solicitor Erica Watson, for Dobre, told the court she was married and her husband and child were back in Romania.
”She arrived 10 days ago and had previously worked here as a babysitter for a Romanian family in London.”
She said she earns £800 a month and had savings of £500 which she would gladly use to pay a fine, and gave an address in Leytonstone where all three accused lived and which had previously been used as an address on a previous conviction.
Douglas McConnell, for Strujan, said his client also lived at the address. He said he had a wife back in Romania and had been looking for work, but also had savings. He had no previous convictions, he added.
Ian Houston, for Vinatoru, said his client was ”more or less unwittingly caught up in this.”
He said he has friends in the UK from which he could borrow money to pay a fine.
Sheriff Mundy left the bench for a few minutes and, when he returned, said he had looked at the issue of deportation.
He told the gang: ”However, I have come to the view that the appropriate method of dealing with you today is by way of a custodial sentence.”
He jailed Dobre for three months and imposed a four-month sentence on each of her co-accused.
”There is no alternative in all the circumstances to a custodial sentence,” he said, adding: ”I have had regard to the fact that none of you have a verifiable address and I’m satisfied that this was an organised expedition to shop-lift.”
All three defence solicitors indicated that they intended to appeal as none of their clients had previously served a prison sentence and therefore background reports were required before they could be jailed.