Northampton man sentenced for his part in shoplifting more than £1,600 worth of alcohol and laundry products from Tesco

Fabian Cristoloveeanu, of Brendon Close, Abington, appeared at Peterborough Magistrates’ Court on Monday March 16, charged with two counts of theft from a shop, attempted theft and going equipped for theft.

The 22-year-old was arrested at a Tesco supermarket in Milton – a village in Cambridgeshire – at around 3.30pm on March 13.

According to Cambridgeshire Police, two men were arrested at the scene, and alcohol and laundry products worth £1,605 were recovered.

Cristoloveeanu’s co-defendant Anton Gabriel Andrei, aged 36, was also sentenced on the same day in the same court for two counts of theft from a shop and attempted theft from a shop.

Sergeant Chris Daniel, from the South Cambridgeshire Neighbourhood Team, said: “Shoplifting isn’t just an opportunistic crime, we are increasingly seeing it linked to organised groups who target stores repeatedly and at scale. These offences have a real impact on retailers, staff and the wider community.

“We take this type of criminality extremely seriously and will continue to work closely with businesses to identify offenders quickly and bring them before the courts.”

Cristoloveeanu pleaded guilty to all four charges against him. He was sentenced eight weeks in prison, suspended for 12 months and ordered to pay £400 in compensation.

Andrei, of Charlecote Road, Dagenham also pleaded guilty to the three charges against him. He was sentenced to 26 weeks in prison, suspended for 12 months and ordered to pay £400 in compensation.