Three separate shoplifting suspects have been arrested on the same day by officers fighting retail crime in north Kent.
Kent Police received a report on Monday 9 September 2024, that confectionary valued at more than £60 had been stolen from a store in Thames Way, Gravesend. Neighbourhood constables completed enquiries into the incident, including the examination of CCTV footage, and a local man was taken into custody later the same day and charged with theft. The 31-year-old appeared before Medway Magistrates’ Court where he was conditionally bailed to the same court on Friday 25 October.
On the same day, local officers arrested a woman after crates of beer were allegedly stolen on two separate occasions from the Co-op in Dene Holm Road, Northfleet. The 31-year-old woman of no fixed address, was charged by investigators with two counts of theft with a total value of £50. She was conditionally bailed to a hearing at Sevenoaks Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday 1 October.
A further suspect was detained on 9 September at Bluewater Shopping Centre. Officers received a report from security staff that several pairs of sunglasses worth £5,347 had been stolen from John Lewis. A man was located in a car park area, arrested and taken into custody.
The 45-year-old was later charged with two counts of theft. He was also charged with a theft from a shop in Chelmsford, Essex on 20 May. He was remanded in custody to appear at Medway Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday 11 September.