A John Lewis stockroom worker has been jailed after he stole a total of £45,000 worth of products from the retailer that he planned to sell online.
Lai Long, 47, had dedicated 17 years of his life to the John Lewis store located at the Bluewater shopping centre branch near Dartford, Kent. However, after his many years of service, an internal investigation was launched at the store after it was reported that a large number of products had gone missing from the stockroom.
Between October 2017 and June 2018, products such as laptops and mobiles from big-name brands including Apple and Samsung mysteriously vanished.
The internal investigation involved making a test purchase for a pair of Apple AirPods, which were listed on an online selling site using a profile connected to Uong. It was later confirmed the AirPods were from the John Lewis stock.
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Cops raided Uong's home where they found nearly £34,000 worth of stolen tech, including watches, mobile phones and wearable tech from Windows, Apple and Samsung, which he intended to sell online.
The search of Uong's property found a shocking £33,799 worth of Apple products, which were all confirmed to be stolen from the store.
As part of their investigation, officers found that more than £24,000 worth of electrical goods had been sold by Uong on the online site.
Through further enquiries, police were able to contact customers who bought the stolen goods from Uong, who were asked to provide the serial numbers for the products to confirm where they came from.
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From the £24,000 of goods sold online, police confirmed £11,799 worth of products came from John Lewis.
It was confirmed the stolen stock was valued to be a whopping £45,598.
Uong, from Gravesend in Kent, appeared at Woolwich Crown Court on Monday, where he admitted to handling stolen goods.
He was jailed for two years and eight months and was ordered to pay £170 in costs. A Proceeds of Crime Application was also launched to recover the money.
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Investigating officer Jacqueline Brown of the Bluewater Police Team said: "After a long and protracted investigation I am pleased with the outcome achieved from the courts, this demonstrates our willingness to get the best possible outcome for the victims and hold offenders to account for their actions."
Brown also added: "His employer placed a lot of trust in him, and not only did he let his employer down but he also lost his job and will now serve time behind bars for handling the stolen items."
Shiala Mahmood