Prolific perfume thief stole nearly £10k worth of fragrances from drug stores
A prolific perfume thief stole nearly £10k worth of fragrances from high-street drug stores such as Boots. Gary Parks, of Okehampton Crescent, Welling was sentenced for his crimes on Thursday, September 12.
Parks, 35, stole perfumes to the value of £6,400 from Boots the Chemist in Sevenoaks High Street on April 12. On June 4, Parks travelled to Dartford High Street in a stolen Land Rover Discovery, where he forced open the doors of Savers and stole perfumes worth £3,300.
The vehicle had been displaying number plates from a similar vehicle he had stolen the previous evening from Blackheath. Using CCTV footage and Automatic Number Plate Recognition investigators could prove Parks had used the vehicle and was involved in the robbery, after which they seized the Land Rover from the Welling area.
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Parks was then arrested on June 18 from an address in Plumstead. Detective Constable Emma Laimbeer, said: “Parks is a prolific offender who targeted a victim’s home overnight to steal car keys, without considering the impact this would have on those who live at the address.
“Furthermore he had no regard for the financial impact on businesses from losing large amounts of valuable stock. The cost of repairing the damage to the doors of one of the premises should also not be underestimated.
“The Kent Crime Squad is a team of dedicated detectives and officers who target the most persistent criminals. Our investigation was able to piece together evidence that identified Parks as being responsible for a string of offences and we then tracked him down to a property in south London. North Kent will be a safer place now he is behind bars.”
Parks was also proved to be involved with the theft of an Audi and Mercedes from a driveway in Wilmington, Dartford on April 3 of this year. He was later charged and pleaded guilty to a house burglary, a shop burglary, two thefts of motor vehicles, theft from a motor vehicle, receiving stolen property and theft from a shop at Woolwich Crown Court. He was later sentenced on Thursday September, 12.
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