A gang of shoplifters who filled 857 trollies with £130,000 worth of stolen goods turned themselves in after receiving an ultimatum letter from the police. The six thieves targeted numerous shops and supermarkets across Suffolk, Somerset, Surrey and Cornwall between January 2022 and February 2024.

CCTV footage showed them brazenly leaving stores with trollies overflowing with unpaid items, ranging from toilet roll and nappies to alcohol and cleaning products. They then sold these items at reduced prices in their own illicit "their very own criminal supermarket chain."

Their crime spree was unravelled by Surrey Police's PC Ben Marshall, who noticed similarities in a series of shoplifting cases across multiple counties. Identifying six culprits all residing in Essex, PC Marshall realised the difficulty of arresting them all simultaneously.

Instead, he sent them a letter informing them they were under investigation for theft and gave them two weeks to surrender. His strategy proved successful when a lawyer representing all six suspects contacted him.Each defendant was subsequently charged with conspiracy to commit theft, linked to a total of 86 crimes, and individually connected to the crimes they had committed.

Tania Patmore, 52, from Stanford-le-Hope, filled her cart to the brim, stealing items worth an eye-watering £116,163 spread over 231 trollies. She managed to dodge jail time, receiving a suspended two-year sentence for her staggering haul.

Jason Raven, 50, also of Stanford Le Hope, involved with 188 trollies brimming with goods valued at £94,539.20, wasn't as fortunate; he's been sentenced to three years' imprisonment.

Nicola Patmore, aged 50 from Colchester, nabbed £76,436.00 in goods across 152 shopping trollies and received a two-year prison term, albeit suspended for 18 months.

James Mytum, 41, from Colchester, won't see the outside of a cell for three years owing to his involvement with 143 trollies holding £71,910.40 worth of swiped items.

Samantha Drum, a 30 year old from East Tilbury, was implicated in snatching up £58,332.80 in goods from 116 trollies. She avoided immediate imprisonment, handed a suspended sentence for two years. Marlie Patmore, 29 and hailing from Basildon, assisted in loading 27 trollies with pilfered items worth £13,576.80, escaping with a 20-month custodial sentence that is suspended for 12 months.

PC Marshall expressed immense satisfaction at the culprits being apprehended, stating: "I am incredibly pleased that these individuals have now been held to account for years of deliberate and targeted offending." He confessed his awe at the scope of their crimes: "I knew I had something when I linked the first few similar offences, but I had no idea at the start of this how far and wide this 'simple' shoplifting case in Guildford would eventually go."

Reflecting on the gang's downfall, PC Marshall commented on their flawed strategy: "These criminals assumed they could hide the breadth of their offending by travelling far and wide across the south of England - but they were wrong. Their sentences will have a significant impact on reducing their propensity and their ability to re-offend."

In the meantime, Hannah Galloway from Tesco Security Hub stated: "Thanks to the incredible support from Surrey Police during this investigation, these offenders who were targeting our stores up and down the country are no longer. This has made our stores safer for our customers, colleagues and communities in general."