A trio of brazen shoplifters who were part of a criminal gang that stole £200,000 of goods from supermarket shelves have been jailed
The three thieves are believed to be responsible for over 100 crimes targeting large stores and focusing on stealing razors, alcohol, fragrances, and beauty and electric goods.
But they also plundered luxury products with their largest haul seeing them walk away with £4,500 worth of champagne.
Whilst police were able to pin just under £200,000 of stolen goods to the gang detectives believe the true extent of their crime spree to be far higher.
Nicolae Boia, 30, Laura Miron, 27, and Oviliv Firan, 38, would work as a team to grab and conceal items from Tesco’s shelves – before either leaving the store without payment or heading to self-checkout to make a small token purchase
Video captured of one theft shows them wheeling a trolley in front of another to block the view from down the aisle, while the second, Boia, scooped items from the shelves into a rucksack.
His accomplices Miron and Firan then acted as lookouts, with Miron finally swapping baskets with Boia – with all three continuing to ‘shop’ whilst acting as if they do not know each other.
The crooks – understood to be part of a much larger organised crime gang – were so bold in their offending that on some instances they simply changed clothes before returning to the same store to commit further offences.
Crimes connected to the group were linked to multiple locations cross the country – from Poole and Portsmouth in the south and Chorley and Wigan in the north to Bristol in the west and Gillingham in the east.
Surrey Police’s investigation began when intelligence was passed on by Opal – the National Police Chief’s Council’s intelligence unit focused on serious organised acquisitive crime.
Officers worked in partnership with Tesco to wade through hours of CCTV footage and traced 11 shoplifting offences committed in Surrey.
They then successfully linked the criminals to 120 offences across the country – proving the more significant crime of “organised conspiracy”.
It is understood that Miron, Firan, and Boia were part of a larger organised criminal gang responsible for around 800 offences across the UK – but police believe they have ceased to operate since these arrests.
Sentencing them at Chelmsford Crown Court last Friday Miron, from Feltham, was jailed for three years and three months.
Firan, from Hounslow, was jailed for three and six months, and Boia, also from Hounslow, was jailed for two years and 11 months.
All three had previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy to steal at Guildford Crown Court on October 28.
Surrey Police Inspector Chris Thoday said: “This result is down to the hard work and determination of the team to ensure Miron, Firan and Boia paid the full penalty for their extensive and organised offending not just in Surrey but across the country.
“Theft from shops is a crime that may be seen to be ‘victimless’ but, for shop workers and law-abiding people who work hard to pay their way, it is a painful, unfair, and sometimes frightening crime they can often feel powerless to prevent.
Stephanie Coombes, Head of Intelligence at Opal, added: “This is a fantastic result which really shows the value of our work in partnership with police forces and retailers. Since we began taking intelligence reports in May 2024, we’ve seen a number of success stories just like this one, where organised groups are targeting multiple locations in the expectation that then they’re less likely to be identified. By centralising intelligence from retailers and police forces, we’re able to build a comprehensive picture of offending which means there is quite literally nowhere for offenders to hide.”
