A woman who was caught stealing from a Peterborough shop has been ordered to pay a £700 fine or face 28 days in prison. Monica Asan, 28, was arrested at Serpentine Green Shopping Centre in Hampton, Peterborough, on Tuesday morning (28 November) after being caught stealing from Superdrug.
She was seen to enter the store along with three other people and fill a bag with goods worth £694 before being stopped by security as the group left the shop without paying.
The group ran off but were chased by security who managed to flag down police who were on patrol around the shopping centre.
Asan was arrested alongside a man and another woman, both of whom have since been released from police custody with no further action being taken against them in relation to the theft, however the woman has been transferred to immigration services after being found to have breached a deportation order.
Asan, of no fixed address, appeared at Peterborough Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday (29 November) where she admitted theft from Superdrug and was ordered to pay a £700 fine, or face 28 days in prison.
PC Niamh Skipworth, who investigated, said: “This was a planned theft with the men acting as lookout, however security were onto them and managed to intervene and retrieve the goods, alerting our officers who happened to be in the right place at the right time.
“We’re working more closely with our local retailers, particularly at this time of year as the shops get busier and there is usually a rise in retail crime.”
