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00:01When shoplifters strike...
00:03Police emergency.
00:05Our security guards have been stabbed in the leg.
00:07Oh, he smashed up a load of things.
00:10Grabbed our manager and then gone.
00:12The offending behaviour is getting out of control.
00:14When he was arrested, he was in possession of a lock knife.
00:18Can they be caught?
00:20I believe that you've been shoplifting this morning.
00:22So just stand up for me.
00:25It's really shocking how prison did got him.
00:28From the lone wolves...
00:31To organised crime gangs.
00:33They still almost order high-value items
00:36to get the biggest bang for their buck.
00:38Anyone up here?
00:39Aha! Bingo!
00:41Cigarettes.
00:44These guys had extensive criminal histories across Europe.
00:48This series follows the police forces...
00:50Let's go and get some results.
00:52...on the hunt...
00:53Stop, plain clothes, please, plain clothes, please.
00:55Stop, stop, you're under arrest for that.
00:56Do you know why we have stopped you?
00:59...attempting to protect the victims...
01:01Yes, yes.
01:02Jeff, you all right, mate?
01:03What's the mask of an ETA-wise?
01:04He wants five minutes.
01:05All that's unacceptable.
01:07This is life-threatening.
01:08...and bring down the criminals.
01:10Shoplifting is a crime.
01:11We want to bring offenders to justice,
01:12and that is not easy.
01:14Go to arrest.
01:15Go to arrest.
01:16Go to arrest.
01:17Go to arrest.
01:30Go to arrest.
01:31Go to arrest.
01:31Go to arrest.
01:34Go to arrest.
01:38Go to thee.
01:49Step one of the لا bit.
01:50Go to говорил.
01:55It's not himself.
03:38No.
03:39Would you lay right in court?
03:40Oh, yes, I did.
03:41Anything you do say, maybe give it a sentence.
03:44All right.
03:45If it doesn't robbery, yeah.
03:47Right, and you're further under arrest for robbery.
03:49Wow.
03:50Robbery.
03:53A robbery accusation in shop theft means threats or violence may have been used.
04:00It can mean years in prison.
04:03Just watch red when you get in there.
04:04Just watch red when you get in there, pal.
04:22Just watch red when you get in there, pal.
04:40All right.
04:42Is there a reason you won't get up?
04:45Are you refusing to speak to us?
04:48Are you well?
04:49Are you okay?
04:50Do you need any medical attention?
04:52Well, yeah, I've been asking for the nurse since 1am this month since I come in.
04:56Right.
04:57I'm injured.
04:58What's up with you?
04:59Why are you ill?
04:59Because I'm withdrawing.
05:01I can't be injured.
05:02Where are you coming down from?
05:03I haven't.
05:15Said he's withdrawing.
05:16He's not very well...
05:17That's right.
05:17He refused to come over for the medic.
05:19Right, okay.
05:20So he has had the opportunity to speak to the medic?
05:22He has had the opportunity, we went to his cell and he just refused.
05:30to build a case officers examine evidence from the suspects two-week crime spree
05:40i've got five investigations here so we've got two that have happened on the 16th
05:47both at the same place but at different times then we've got the 14th yeah 11th is the
05:55same co-op a lot of them all at the same place and he's kind of gone in on multiple
05:59occasions
06:01he knows the store yeah he knows what he wants and how he's going to go about it yeah so
06:08i'm
06:08added a smack pack yes very obviously him as well yeah it just shows you how brazen they are there
06:15as well no attempt to hide his identity he's just took some off that shelf right in front of a
06:22staff
06:22member so he's just not bothered is he robbery from the 18th that's our chap there been confronted
06:32by shop owner he's just taking a swing at this chap
06:46and he just carries on
07:00in order to make his escapees being violent towards one of these shop assistants it looks
07:06like over the last week or so this chap's been on a bit of a rampage in total michael is
07:11linked to eight
07:12shop thefts one with threat of violence so we've only got a short time to deal with it so it's
07:17important we get hold of all of the evidence and statements as quickly as we can he's got the same
07:22backpack on in every footage we'll just go and have a look if it's the same one because if it
07:25is we can
07:26we'll seize it let's turn the engine off it's got information the vehicles involved in shop there
07:37two romanian suspects are linked to 80 000 pounds worth of stolen supermarket goods
07:43this is the biggest case i've worked on today
08:16he's gone in twice on the same day so this one's at half five and then he's gone back at
08:2021 11.
08:22officers are preparing to question their suspect arrested for multiple thefts and a robbery
08:28they're almost halfway through the 24-hour custody clock
08:33you see him go straight to the same aisle same backpack
08:38and he's picked up a whole tray there and just took it
08:42i wouldn't be surprised if that bag's already in his pocket
08:44yeah well let's check i'll go down to custody and check
08:52michael was carrying a bag when he was arrested pc chris holton needs to work out if it's a match
09:01backpack that has been booked in with it's potentially the same one he's been using to shoplift
09:09now the bags empty it's it will have been emptied by staff so that's the that is likely to be
09:16what was in it
09:26it's a different backpack
09:35it's a different backpack to what we've seen so far on cctv so at present with what we know right
09:41now we've got no necessity for seize it but that might always change later on
09:45as we review a bit more cctv
09:53it's a different bag black puma bag it's not the one that we've seen so far you're probably better
09:58getting the interview out of the way and then we can just focus on getting the case right
10:01because we've got all the statements we need what i really want to do in the interview though
10:05is just put it to him because it's so obviously him yeah i get that it's overwhelming isn't it
10:11yeah he can't really deny it can he
10:21all right magic thank you
10:25the solicitors here so chris is about to go into interview now once he's been interviewed obviously
10:31we'll have an idea of what his account is and then we'll go through to our sergeant and make a
10:36decision on whether we're going to charge based on the evidence that we've got and all the cctv
10:43go on thank you
10:46police have less than 12 hours left to keep michael detained without charge
10:51so he's initially been arrested on suspicion of robbery
10:56and then there's a series of shopliftings
11:01what are we talking about as far as by use concerned
11:05the most is about 250 pounds others are in the region of between 40 and 70.
11:11is it captured on cctv yes and we're going to have it an interview yes so i assume a remand
11:19yes tomorrow morning we'll be seeking a remand all right if i can have about
11:2415 20 minutes with you yeah no problem at all okay okay thank you very much
11:38police must put their evidence to michael and his solicitor in interview
11:44but he's still refusing to leave his cell
12:06that process doesn't stop just because he won't come out
12:35in 2024 a man was accused for his part in the theft of over 78 000 pounds of high value
12:42supermarket goods
12:47so romanian national andre theodore cretu was on the radar of opel the specialist police unit that
12:54targets shoplifting ocgs credit was first brought to our ascension by morrison's as part of that
13:02investigation uh we looked into uh cretu's travel patterns and where he was going and where he was
13:09offending we understood that he was traveling up from the midlands to humberside at that point in time
13:17it was mostly offending as a loan offender causing a significant amount of harm
13:21and we were able to identify a vehicle that was linked to cretu and add a mark to the vehicle
13:31on the 30th of august 2024 cretu's car was stopped by humberside police
13:38it was reported as being involved in a local supermarket theft
13:44just turn the engine off let's please we've got the keys wonderful it's got information the
13:48vehicles involved in shop thefts okay speak english yeah okay
13:55so we're going to search yourselves in the vehicle and look for any either stolen items or items used
14:03going equipped to steal okay do you understand that okay the really really critical point in the
14:08investigation that allowed us to kind of really open it up when we'd identified the vehicle that
14:12cretu was using and we'd use our contacts in humberside to sit up on the vehicle
14:18in cretu's car was a woman police were not expecting to find elena googolan is also wanted
14:26when we did find who was in the vehicle it was obviously cretu and a passenger who was googolan so
14:32for us that was a bit of a game changer that was really really pivotal as a key part of
14:38the investigation
14:40we had liaised with our partners in morrison's and upon reviewing the cctv footage they identified
14:47that that this individual was known to them for previous offenses
14:52but could the police find any stolen goods in the car
15:22this interview has been recorded in cell 24 at preston police station
15:26you've had the opportunity to leave your cell you've refused to do so
15:31in the cells suspected shoplifter michael is being held for multiple shop thefts and a robbery
15:39just uncover your head it's really important that we do this properly
15:48we're here to get your account of things today so the majority of the offenses that you've been
15:53arrested for shoplifting which is theft you've also been arrested for a robbery that would be a theft
15:58involving force if the officers can't secure charges the suspect will be released on the 22nd of the
16:077th king street lancaster did you enter uh 2014 hours when you've entered have you headed straight for a
16:17specific aisle so the allegation is that you've stolen protein bars to a value of around 256 pounds
16:28but you've entered the store you've made specifically to that area of the shop and in around 50 seconds
16:36you've stolen all of those items taking them in your hands and left have you done that
16:42i'll make you aware of the cctv where it does appear to quite clearly be yourself
16:49do you sometimes go to the same place more than once in a day
16:57when you went in did you intend to steal things like cooked meats cheese and coffee
17:03yeah what was the reason that you intended to take those specific items
17:10essentially you've admitted to entering that store and taking those items
17:14yeah how much heroin do you take do you take every day yeah how much you take
17:20uh uh what's that cost you a day
17:31pc holton moves on to the more serious robbery charge
17:36so what do you remember um i've grabbed from chocolate okay
17:40uh one guy come around before i've even put it in my hand right he's come around saying boy you
17:48put
17:48that back i've told him fuck off now i've got two of them they've basically blocked me
17:56there have you made threats to either of those members of staff just to be clear
18:02no one said they put the hands up and then you've like smacked the hand out of the way have
18:07you done
18:07that no nothing else from you right it's 14 55 hours it's 2 55 pm okay i'll end the interview
18:16there
18:18michael now has just under 10 hours left of his custody clock hi matey so what was he like in
18:24interview he's denied the robbery said he wasn't violent wasn't aggressive to the staff members hasn't
18:30threatened them hasn't assaulted them so he's denied the robbery aspects but he's had all the thefts
18:37he's given a full account of most of them remembered most of them said he does it to fund his
18:42drug habit
18:48michael was later convicted of seven shop thefts and sentenced to eight weeks in prison
18:54he awaits his sentence for robbery my concern is he's a by his own admission is a drug addict he's
19:03committed these offenses he said in order to fuel his drug habit and i don't think eight weeks of which
19:10he'll probably serve four perhaps three is enough to actually break that habit and get him into a
19:17different routine it probably isn't sufficient to rehabilitate him and he'll probably just come out and do it
19:23again i'd like to think he won't and i would love to think that he's learned a lesson and will
19:28seek
19:28help however instincts and experience tells me we'll be dealing with him again shortly
19:39there you go and he's nicked it straight out good facial shot of him there
19:44a stand-off with a wanted thief who's terrorized the same shop eight times what the are you doing
20:19all
20:21Yeah, yeah. Fantastic.
20:26Operation Vulture is targeting the most serious
20:28and habitual shop thieves in Lancashire.
20:32I saw him yesterday, so he's clearly out.
20:35So we'll put him down there, and I know he's out as well.
20:40He's been locked up over in Blackpool, hasn't he? Yeah, he's...
20:43So, again, we can get rid of him for now
20:45and take him off our tasking.
20:47So, yeah, let's have a look at a few of the upcoming ones, mate,
20:49and start getting out there to the other patrols as well.
20:51I'll get updated.
20:52The team have a new Most Wanted, Ben.
20:56He's one of the most prolific we've got
20:58in Preston at the moment, isn't he?
20:59For the past four weeks,
21:01because he's got probably about eight jobs for him, maybe more.
21:05All from the same shop as well.
21:06I think we'll get a positive result for him soon, boss.
21:10We've got a few on it,
21:10so they'll hopefully get him in the next few days and lock him up.
21:13All right, spot on, mate.
21:15Brilliant. Thanks, boss.
21:40So this one should be hopefully him entering the store.
21:43Yeah, that's him on the bike there.
21:48It looks like he's, like, scoping it out, doesn't he?
21:51Seeing if they've got a security guard on.
21:54And there you go, straight in, hood up.
22:01Straight in his pants.
22:02That's right, Ben.
22:06There you go, and he's nicked there.
22:08Straight out.
22:09There you go.
22:10Good facial shot of him there.
22:14We'll go that way.
22:16With strong CCTV evidence against the suspect, Ben,
22:20police have enough to bring him in.
22:22Hang on. What's up?
22:25We're that way.
22:33The plan of action if we can grab him would be
22:35lock him up for the ones that we know he's done,
22:37and then we can do some digging around the other ones that have come in
22:40and see if he's done them as well.
22:43I've had a look through, and it's mainly just food, groceries.
22:47This one says cheesecakes, there's others for meats and stuff
22:49that he's just hiding on his person and leaving.
22:58The police arrive at Ben's address.
23:24I think he's gone out once.
23:25He's gone out?
23:26He's gone out.
23:26How long have you gone?
23:27I heard him earlier on.
23:28It's only about 6pm.
23:29I haven't seen him since.
23:31I'm near the door bank.
23:32Right.
23:32We'll go have a look through.
23:33Cheers.
23:33Nice one.
23:47Back at the station, the hunt is on for more evidence.
23:51He's prolifically hitting one of the Tesco stores in Preston.
23:56We've got about eight jobs for him now.
23:58So 10% of the shoplifters from Tesco are or have been committed potentially by him.
24:08Four hours later, police receive a tip-off and are called back to the flat.
24:14I've just had a call from Claire from the Housing Association.
24:18He says she's going to do an eviction at his home address.
24:22So we're going to go now and see if he's in and serve the eviction on him.
24:25And if he's in, he'll be coming in.
24:30With deaths, we don't have a power of entry.
24:33But the Housing Association have given us consent to go in.
24:37Because he's committing offences in the community, it's a breach of his tenancy.
24:40So he's had previous warnings about other things.
24:46I think Claire's had enough of him, to be honest.
25:01If you don't answer, we can snap it and then we can just wait for them to come.
25:10That's fine.
25:20Keep an eye on the back.
25:22Yeah, jump out.
25:24Window's right back.
25:25It's Claire at gateway, are you in?
25:35Jack is here at window.
25:36Stay where you are.
25:37Beautiful.
25:38Stay there.
25:40What are you doing, man?
25:41What's up with you?
25:41What's up with you?
25:44What's up with you?
25:44Aren't you fucking coming like that?
26:10In 2024, two suspected shop thieves with possible links to an international crime group were stopped by traffic police in
26:18Humberside.
26:21The vehicle's full of items that are suspected to be stolen.
26:23So at the minute, at 14.06 hours, you're both under arrest on suspicion of shop theft.
26:31Put that out for me.
26:33Now, same thing, Miami defensive.
26:34If you don't mention one question, sit down.
26:37Something like that, or anything you do to say, maybe we never know if it's okay.
26:40Everything will be explained to you.
26:43Another one?
26:45Another side, just underneath.
26:47Yeah.
26:47Police found over 1,300 pounds worth of stolen goods from a local supermarket.
26:54Let's pop your phone on.
26:55I have two kids.
26:57I want you to understand.
26:58Wait a minute.
26:59You can't use it, okay?
27:00What the fuck I did?
27:01No, no, I will sort it.
27:02I have, I told you I have three kids, yeah?
27:03Yeah, I know, okay.
27:04Do you understand this?
27:05Yeah, I do.
27:06I don't see...
27:06Do you understand you're under arrest?
27:07Yeah, I understand.
27:08That means you can't make a phone call.
27:09I will sort out your childcare for you.
27:12I'll search you, mate.
27:13Give me cars and I think, yeah, good.
27:15The two suspects were detained by Humberside police, who at this stage were unaware of their
27:20nationwide crime spree.
27:23The first time I set my eyes on Kretu and Gugalan was in custody.
27:27I was tasked to go to Grimsby and interview him.
27:32My role is to deal with prisoners that come in on a daily basis.
27:38You interview him and you speak to your sergeant about the evidence and either you charge him
27:42or you bail him or you, you know, further action them depending on what evidence is available.
27:48Both Kretu and Gugalan were interviewed.
27:50Two further shop thefts were discovered, one locally and one 200 miles away in Essex.
27:59At the time, Kretu was charged with the three counts of shop theft and Gugalan was charged with two counts
28:05of shop theft.
28:05Both suspects were remanded to prison.
28:08It then became clear to Humberside police their regional offending was merely the tip of the iceberg.
28:15I've been sat on my computer and this is when this email's pinged in from the intelligence officer from OPAL
28:20that Kretu and Gugalan's offending is much wider than we thought.
28:25I've shown their shop-lifting spree from the bottom of the country to the top of the country.
28:30They had one objective and that was to steal.
28:34We liaised with the OIC in Humberside who obviously thought they had some local offences,
28:38but actually we had a scope of national offences dating back to 2019.
28:43So it was a very different investigation to probably what they thought it was going to be when it began.
28:48PC Elijah Hartley faced the huge challenge of collating evidence against Kretu and Gugalan from 23 police forces.
28:56This is the biggest case I've worked on today.
28:59So that was a bit daunting at the time.
29:03To strengthen the case, PC Hartley had to prove the suspects intended to steal from supermarkets nationwide.
29:10There was 700 clips of CCTV footage of their offending.
29:15I had to review every single file.
29:18This is the CCTV from the day they were arrested.
29:22You've got both Gugalan and Kretu at the VOD item.
29:28Kretu selecting numerous items and placing them into a trolley, which Gugalan is then organising.
29:34They then hide it with some nappies on top, which covers a whole bag.
29:41And then they just leave with no attempts to pay.
29:44You can see they're very organised for what they're doing.
29:52Organised crime gangs operate in a very sophisticated manner.
29:56They use vehicles to travel up and down the country.
29:59This isn't a case of just going in and grabbing a couple of items and then leaving the store.
30:04They go in with clear plans and set items that they know stealing means that they'll be able to sell
30:09on very quickly.
30:10They go around the shop collecting beauty items, razors, sometimes printering, high value small goods.
30:20This is a similar MO to what the other offences are across the other forces.
30:24You can see Kretu with a shopping trolley with multiple bags for life in it and a couple of large
30:32bags of nappies.
30:33He looks at a bottle of whisky and then places one of them into his bag, but then proceeds to
30:39select another three, four bottles of whisky and places them in his bag.
30:45He's going in with a shopping list in his head of what he's taking.
30:54On this footage, he goes to the self-checkout. However, he then looks around, probably to see if there's any
31:00staff members, and then he just walks off without making any attempts to pay for anything.
31:05Kretu and Gugilan were seen to be part of the same organised crime group of people.
31:11However, they were never seen together until the 30th of August, 2024, when they were ultimately arrested.
31:18That's the only time any CCTVs put them both together at the same place.
31:22The CCTV evidence was strong, but to secure the biggest charges, police needed them to talk.
31:30Elena Gugilan was brought from prison to be interviewed by PC Hartley, but the case suffered a setback.
31:36Gugilan was an old combat interview.
31:38She gave me the attitude that she can't be bothered being there anymore, and she just wants to go back
31:48to prison.
31:49To connect both suspects to the catalogue of thefts totalling £78,000, all would depend on the interview with Andre
31:58Theodore Kretu.
32:08Gugilan!
32:10Gugilan!
32:12Gugilan!
32:24Gugilan!
32:26Gugilan!
32:27Gugilan!
32:29Gugilan!
32:41Gugilan!
32:52Gugilan!
32:55Gugilan!
32:55Gugilan!
33:06Gugilan!
33:08Gugilan!
33:08Gugilan!
33:11Gugilan!
33:11Gugilan!
33:12Gugilan!
33:12Gugilan!
33:13Gugilan!
33:14Gugilan!
33:16Gugilan!
33:19Gugilan!
33:22Gugilan!
33:25Gugilan!
33:25The Housing Association grant them access to the apartment.
33:29He had his legs out of the back, didn't he?
33:32But I got here.
33:33Last chance, come on.
33:35There's police at the back, mate.
33:36I'm not bothered.
33:37You need to come down, otherwise we're going to end up damaging this door.
33:40Well, we'll have to, won't we?
33:42All right.
33:44Grab one of them.
34:05Here's your hands.
34:11Stand up, bud.
34:14Just listen to my mate.
34:16In a minute, you're under arrest for shotlifting.
34:19All right.
34:20Do not have to say anything, but it may on your defence.
34:23You're not mentioning my question.
34:24Something you're late to live in court.
34:26Anything you do say, mate, you're in an evidence.
34:27All right?
34:28Yeah.
34:31It would have been the same outcome.
34:32Whether he'd have come to the door, jumped out the window,
34:35he would have still been arrested.
34:37But it went smoothly, and now he's in custody.
34:43Fine, you're in.
34:47All right, mate.
34:56We're going to go through now, follow the van in.
34:59We'll get him booked in, and then we'll tidy up the investigation
35:03and get him interviewed.
35:06He's been arrested for one offence.
35:08It's just an easier process when we get to custody.
35:12And then he'll be re-arrested for the further offences.
35:15At least seven, but it may be more.
35:28Just this way, mate.
35:33And where was the offence taking place?
35:35At Tesco on Longridge Road, Ribbleton, Preston.
35:39We've got to do some other enquiries on at least seven other thefts
35:43from the same store.
35:48All right.
35:50I'm going to authorise your detention to the police station,
35:52so then we're going to have to ask you some questions
35:53in a tape-recorded interview.
35:55All right.
35:58Any jewellery?
35:59No.
35:59No.
36:06No, it's jacking.
36:07Yeah, put it on for the time being.
36:09God, no objections to your way.
36:12You having the alcohol or drugs today?
36:14I've got a drug.
36:15Have you had?
36:17Everyone in crack.
36:18Everyone in crack.
36:19It's this morning?
36:20Yeah.
36:24Police have 24 hours to question Ben and seek charges.
36:29We'll now get him interviewed,
36:30and hopefully he is commanded to court tomorrow.
36:38So over the 17 shop thefts,
36:40you've took over £78,000 worth of goods.
36:45A breakthrough in the nationwide supermarket shop theft.
36:49Just keep your eye on that thought here.
36:51No, probably not.
36:53I should be here.
36:54Yes, it seems to be me.
37:13In the case of the Romanian-organised shop thieves,
37:17key suspect Andre Theodore Cretu was already in prison
37:20for regional shop theft offences.
37:23The time is 12.11.
37:26I'm a present interview room at Cliff Road Police Station.
37:30In October 2024,
37:32he was accused of attempting to steal a further £18,000 worth of goods
37:36from supermarkets nationwide.
37:38You've got that nerves, and you're like,
37:41am I going to make sure I'm asking everything?
37:43The success of the case needed his account.
37:47On the 18th or the 12th, where were you?
37:49I don't remember.
37:50I don't remember.
37:52Were you in Rochester?
37:54I don't remember.
37:56Did you take anything to the value of £1,091?
38:00I don't remember.
38:05This is a new start.
38:06On the 15th of March, 2024,
38:09you entered Warrington
38:10and began to select a rice range
38:12of two push-heads, nicotine items,
38:15and oil-based items.
38:16Do you remember taking them?
38:17Seen as me to sell if you want?
38:20I can't.
38:21I don't remember.
38:22Because of the amount of offending that's happened,
38:24it was going to be a long interview.
38:27So, for the term, I'm going to show you CCO2.
38:29There's a gentleman just there.
38:31I believe that to be you.
38:32Would you agree?
38:37I can't tell.
38:38The image is very dark.
38:41I can't tell.
38:42From looking at this a bit,
38:43and looking at yourself,
38:44standing and sitting in front of me,
38:45I would believe that this is you.
38:47I don't remember.
38:49I can't tell you.
38:50I can't tell you.
38:50I can't tell you.
38:51You are showing me very little things.
38:54If you can show me something more clearer,
38:59then I'll admit to what I've done.
39:05So, just keep your eye on that door here.
39:07How do you see it?
39:09How do you see it?
39:10Yes, it seems to be me,
39:17but I don't remember if I've come to buy or what I did.
39:22With Kretu acknowledging he was in the CCTV,
39:26the investigators at last had a foothold.
39:30These offences have been committed all around the country.
39:33You should know if you've been to those locations,
39:36no matter when the date is,
39:38and if you've been and you've taken anything from any store at any point.
39:49I didn't have great money and I've been living with my wife and my one-and-a-half-year-old
39:56daughter.
39:56I've worked on the black market,
40:06cash in hand, if you will,
40:08because I didn't have the necessary documents to work.
40:19You all look very organized in what you're doing and hiding.
40:23I would say that you're all part of one group
40:27and you know what you're doing and your main goal is to make money.
40:31I don't have a relationship with any group,
40:33I don't know any group and I'm not involved in one group.
40:36I repeat, I don't have any connection with any group,
40:41I don't know any group and I'm not involved in any group.
40:45So over the 17 shop thefts,
40:47you've took over £78,000 worth of goods.
40:51Again, how do you explain that?
41:02When he's gone, yeah, it was me.
41:05It was just a sign of relief and it made me feel like we've got somewhere with this.
41:12The Crown Prosecution Service charged Kretu and his accomplice Elena Gugalan.
41:17Both suspects appeared at Crown Court.
41:21PC Hartley was able to secure over 30 shop theft charges for the two suspects.
41:27That is an incredible piece of work
41:29and to have worked with so many police forces and partner agencies
41:32to gather all of that information meant that the suspects didn't just get charged with Humberside offences.
41:37They actually were charged with offences from all over the country and that is down to his hard work.
41:42For shoplifting offences, Gugalan was sentenced to three years and four months in prison.
41:49Kretu was sentenced to a total of two years and four months and could be deported on his release.
41:55There's a good sentencing, it's a good outcome for the job.
41:58It shows that if you're gonna do such a thing, you're gonna get punished for your actions
42:03and receive prison centres from it.
42:29He is very much a prolific offender.
42:32He was targeted the same store numerous times and sometimes uses disguises.
42:37Operation Vulture's most wanted shop thief, Ben, is in the interview room with PC Kimberley Dasso.
42:44He faces charges of multiple thefts.
42:48So before I caution you, I'm gonna arrest you for a further seven incidents of shoplifting.
42:53So you're being interviewed regarding an allegation of eight times shoplifting.
42:56Are you guilty of these offences?
42:58No, I don't.
43:01We've got CCTV footage which shows a male identified to be yourself
43:05picking up two cases of Corona lagers before running out of the store and making no attempt to pay.
43:12Can you confirm that was you in the footage?
43:14No, I'm in.
43:16We've got CCTV showing a male identified to be yourself and select eight cheesecake items from the dessert fridge
43:23and place them down on his trousers before leaving the store and making no attempt to pay.
43:27Can you confirm that that's you in the footage?
43:30No, I'm in.
43:32There is CCTV footage available showing a male identified to yourself and select numerous grocery items to the value of
43:38£86.50
43:39before leaving the store and making no attempt to pay.
43:42Do you want to comment on this?
43:43No, I'm in.
43:45I showed him the CCTV footage of him in the shop.
43:49He had no reaction to seeing this footage.
43:52He said no comments at all questions I've asked.
43:54I'll go and review the case, speak to my sergeant, and we're gonna seek a charge for all eight shopliftings.
44:01Ben is charged with eight shop thefts from the same store.
44:05He is kept in custody overnight until court in the morning.
44:13He has gone to Lancashire Magistrates Court.
44:17There he was given bail conditions not to enter any Tesco store in Preston.
44:22And then he'll next be seen in court in about seven weeks' town.
44:28He can't just keep going in and out of shops, taking anything he wants.
44:32He has these bail conditions to adhere to.
44:34And if he doesn't, then he'll be brought to fourth court.
44:36Operation Vulture's Most Wanted was later convicted of all eight shop thefts.
44:41He was given a 16-week suspended sentence and ordered to undertake a drug rehabilitation programme.
44:53Next week, will officers tackle an armed gang when the firearms unit are unavailable?
44:58Police interceptors nowhere to hide.
45:00New next Monday at nine.
45:01And Sharon D. Clark is back as DCI Ellis.
45:04The new drama continues tomorrow and Wednesday at nine.
45:07Stream the series so far now on five.
45:09Next tonight, 999 Police Hour of Duty.
45:12Stay with us.
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