Shoplifter wore ladies’ swimming costume to hide stolen booze

A shoplifter donned a women’s swimming costume to steal booze from a supermarket. Aurel Matei, admitted ‘going equipped’ by wearing the one-piece outfit. Security guards spotted Matei and a friend behaving suspiciously. Police were called and Matei was found to be wearing the costume underneath his clothes, as well as carrying a pair of pliers.

Claire Marsh, prosecuting, said the costumes had been specially adapted to help the men stash stolen items. She said: "Police found a swimsuit under his clothes, adapted with a hole in the front." Matei, who had previously received a caution for shoplifting, told police that he had taken the pliers to take tags off the bottles at Morrisons in Chadderton, Oldham.



The jobless Romanian citizen, did not claim benefits and was hunting for a job to send money back to his family, the town’s magistrates were told. Matei, of Freshfield Avenue, in Bolton, pleaded guilty to going equipped for theft and was given a conditional discharge for 18 months and ordered to pay £85 court costs. Michelle Mann, defending Matei, said: "A friend provided him with the swimming costume.

"He has been in this country in an effort to earn money to send back for his child who remains in Romania. He said he went in with the intention of stealing items for himself to consume and accepts he was trying to steal alcohol and take off the security tag," she said. Peter Claber, chairman of the bench, told Matei: "You had the intention of committing a crime and you had planned it. The second you put that suit on, you had every intention of shoplifting." The second man, who was also wearing a swimming costume, received a police caution after the incident.