TWO shoplifters who tried to avoid security alarms by stuffing their loot in a bag lined with metal were caught out by keen eyed store staff.
Christina Power, 29, and mum-of-three Natalie Ann Stephenson, 23, claimed they got the bag from a man in a pub after running out of cash while visiting North Wales for a caravan holiday.
Yesterday the pair admitted stealing £681.75 worth of perfume from Debenhams on Parc Llandudno.
They also admitted going equipped for theft, at Llandudno Magistrates Court. They were both given 12 month community orders.
Prosecutor Diane Williams said member of staff Simon Welland saw them in the fragrance area, on September 10.
She said: “They appeared to be randomly selecting fragrances from the shelves. They started placing the items in a plastic Next bag.”
At one point the pair swapped bags. One then headed to the exit and the other went to select clothes.
The defendant who left carrying the stolen perfume was detained. In the Next bag, there was £681.75 worth of perfumes hidden inside.
The prosecutor added: “The lining was wrapped in brown tape to hold metal which prevented the security alarm from being activated.”
The prosecutor said: “Ms Stephenson said they had gone to Debenhams to steal perfume to sell for cash as their benefits had not come through.”
Solicitor Graham Parry, defending said the women did not come to North Wales specifically to steal, as the prosecution alleged, but for a caravan holiday.
They‘d been given the bag by a man in a pub, Mr Parry said, adding: “The degree of sophistication was caused by him.”
But Mr Parry said his clients accepted they were using the bag to “avoid detection”.
Power, of Mountford Court, Failsworth, Manchester, and Stephenson, of Armitage Grove, Little Hulton, Manchester also admitted breaching conditional discharges from an earlier offence.
They were each given a 12-month community order with Manchester Probation Service.
Debenhams plc declined to comment.
http://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/2011/10/18/shoplifters-used-metal-bag-to-avoid-security-alarm-at-debenhams-store-55578-29612292/
