Watch: Moment brazen thief steals thousands of pounds of luxury perfume
30 April 2025, 14:53 | Updated: 30 April 2025, 16:27
A thief who stole £7,000 worth of perfume from one store in the City of London has been sentenced to 35 weeks in prison.
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CCTV footage shows the moment Phillip Themistockli, 43, of Helston Street, Camden, brazenly filled a plastic shopping bag with a number of items from the shelf.
Themistockli persistently targeted a luxury beauty store on Cheapside, stealing bottles of perfume on multiple occasions.
On Friday May 24 2024, Themistockli placed bottles of perfume worth £1,750 into a basket and walked out without paying.
Just five days later on May 29, he returned and took more bottles of perfume, this time with a value of around £953.
On June 6, he stole £1,033 worth of fragrances, and again on June 7 he stole items from the shop with a value of £1,300.
Themistockli was convicted of three further cases of theft throughout 2024, on each instance stealing product worth £945, £590 and £450 respectively.
He pleaded guilty to seven counts of theft and was handed a Criminal Behaviour Order (CBO) banning him from entering the Square Mile for five years.
Themistockli’s 15-month suspended sentence has been activated, which he will serve consecutively with his 35-week sentence.
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Man seen stealing thousands of pounds worth of perfume
Detective Sergeant Helen Bentley, of the Suspect and Offender Management Team at the City of London Police, said: “Shoplifting is not a victimless crime; it can cause significant alarm and distress to retail staff, as well as members of the public.
“We want retailers to come forward and report any crime so we can start investigations. Through the store’s CCTV, and our extensive camera network in the City, we will bring criminals to justice.
“CBOs are designed to tackle the most serious and persistent anti-social individuals and if Phillip Themistockli breaches his CBO conditions, we can arrest him and put him back before the courts.”
