A CROOKED warehouse worker stole perfumes and cosmetics which he then sold – while he was already subject to a suspended prison sentence for thefts from his previous employer.
But Piotr Durat was caught out when his bosses saw their products for sale on e-bay and bought items which were delivered in a package with his address on it as the sender.
And at Warwick Crown Court Durat, 52, of Bath Street, Rugby, was jailed for a total of 19 months after pleading guilty to the thefts from the MDA storage and distribution firm.
Prosecutor Ian Windridge said that in May last year Durat was given a 12-month suspended prison sentence for the theft of iPhones from his vehicle while working as a driver for UK Mail.
Following a report that 15 phones dispatched from the Ryton hub had not arrived at the company’s Docklands hub, Durat came under suspicion and his movements were monitored.
When he next left the hub he took a route through Ryton village, which was not a permitted route, before stopping in a layby, climbing into the back of the lorry and bringing a sack of items into his cab.
The police were called, and when he was arrested officers found ‘an Aladdin’s cave’ of more than 100 stolen items at his home, said Mr Windridge.
Despite having stolen goods worth around £45,000, Durat was given a chance by being given the suspended sentence – and he then got a job through an agency at the MDA warehouse in Swift Park, Rugby.
In November it was realised that products from the imported Sibley range of perfumes and cosmetics were going missing, and MDA managers found they were being offered for sale on eBay.
So they placed an order, and when the package was delivered it had a sender’s address on it which they were able to check against the addresses of people working at the warehouse.
That led to Durat being identified as the thief, so the police were informed and he was arrested.
A large number of stolen items were found at his home, and it was estimated Durat may have stolen up to £8,000 worth of products, although he entered his plea on the basis that it was £5,000 worth, added Mr Windridge.
Colin Charvill, defending, said that in other respects Durat was ‘a public-spirited person’ who had been a blood donor for many years and in 2018 had intervened to break up a fight outside his home.
Durat was jailed for ten months for his latest thefts – consecutive to nine months of his suspended sentence which he was also ordered to serve.
Judge Anthony Potter told him: “You were at this court on the 20th of May last year, having stolen from a previous employer, and the judge gave you a suspended prison sentence.
“I have no doubt she explained to you that that was your chance. You appear to have forgotten about that.
“Just six months later, when working in a warehouse and again being trusted as an employee, you began removing stock and selling it on eBay.
“One of the most pernicious elements of this kind of offending is the cloud of suspicion it casts over other employees.”
And Durat collapsed to his knees wailing in the dock as Judge Potter added: “The public requires the message to go out that if you are given a chance, and within months repeat the same kind of offending in breach of trust, then you will inevitably go to prison.”
