A video shows the moment a notorious Greggs thief was tackled to the ground after nicking drinks from the shop’s fridge section. Patrick Verry, 33, of no fixed address, was banned from every Greggs store in England and Wales after targeting the store seven times.
Verry can be seen filling up a bag with drinks from the fridge in a Haringey Greggs, in Wood Green High Road, on May 15. Unbeknownst to the prolific shoplifter an undercover Metropolitan Police Officer had been watching him in the act and waiting to make his move.
The police officer stops Verry as he tries to leave the shop with his stolen goods which escalates into a tussle which sees the Greggs thief tackled to the ground and cuffed. Verry was then banned from visiting any Greggs stores in England and Wales after Met Officers secured a ban.
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In a separate incident, a Greenwich drugstore and supermarket theif, Winston Wright, 44, of Lewisham, was banned for three years from every Sainsbury’s, Boots and Co-op in England and Wales, after he stole more than £2,500 worth of goods from stores in the area over four months. He has also been banned from entering the Royal Borough of Greenwich for three years, jailed for three months and fined £200.
Verry pleaded guilty to six counts of theft from the same store at Highbury Corner Magistrates’ Court on Friday, May 16. Meanwhile, Wright pleaded guilty to eight counts of shoplifting and one count of commercial burglary at Croydon Magistrates Court on Tuesday, May 6.
The arrests are the latest on a series of crackdowns by the Met on the capital’s most prolific shoplifters. More officers are being put into local teams to work with businesses to tackle the issue, say the force.
Chief Inspector Rav Pathania, the Met’s lead for tackling retail crime, said: “The Met is focused on tackling the most prolific shoplifters like Wright and Verry. They cause fear to retail workers and their offending has a negative impact on communities.
“We continue to work with local business owners to investigate reports of shoplifting, understand concerns and use different tactics to crackdown, including targeted operations and regular patrols.”
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