CHOCOHOLIC ARRESTED AFTER STEALING 250 BLOCKS OF THE SWEET TREAT
- Alleged shoplifter stole more than $1,300 worth of chocolate
- Police arrested him after tips from the public
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A sweet-toothed shoplifter has been arrested after he was caught red-handed allegedly tried to steal hundreds of chocolate bars.
The alleged thief is accused of loading his trolley with 241 Whittaker's chocolate blocks worth $1349.60 from a supermarket in South Auckland, New Zealand this week.
Police alleged the man still tried to get away with the New Zealand-made chocolate after he was busted.
'Fortunately, on-site security staff were able to lock the trolley, which the offender has then tried to drag before it has tipped over and all items were recovered before he got too far,' Counties Manukau South Senior Sergeant MJ Riddle said in a statement.
Police made the arrest following extensive inquiries into a string of store thefts across South Auckland in recent weeks.
The alleged shoplifter was tracked down at a property in Papakura after police acted on information they received.
A 37-year-old man was charged with multiple counts of burglary and shoplifting.
He was remanded in custody to reappear in Papakura District Court next Monday (July 8).
Police hailed the arrest as an 'excellent outcome' as shoplifting is 'damaging' to communities.
'Police will continue to target prolific offending against retail businesses in our communities,' she said.
'This is also another great example of how the community can assist us in reporting suspicious and illegal behaviour.'
In a separate shoplifting incident, police arrested a woman for allegedly stealing products worth more than $21,000 across multiple supermarkets over Tāmaki Makaurau (Auckland).
She faces 20 charges of shoplifting when she appears in Manukau District Court this week.
Read more 2024-07-04T11:57:52Z dg43tfdfdgfd