This Shoplifter Managed To Steal £3,500 Worth Of Cosmetics In ONE Trip

A shoplifter has been convicted of stealing more than £3,500 worth of goods in just one trip… to a discount store.

Rosa Calaca, 45, paid five visits to the Wilko branch in Crawley, West Sussex in just over a week and stole handfuls of goods, a court heard.

She was caught on CCTV spending half an hour hiding cosmetics in shopping bags during one trip.

She raided the Wilko store five times between March 18 and 26 last year, Horsham Magistrates’ Court heard, and was convicted of five counts of theft.

Calaca, from Crawley, did not turn up for her trial last week and was convicted in her absence.

It is estimated she stole at least £4,000 worth of goods in the five raids.

In one visit, on March 18, she emptied £3,465 worth of cosmetics into her bag and walked straight out of the shop.

The store’s security officer Ryan Patterson told the court: “She spent 30 minutes walking up and down aisles taking handfuls of items before concealing them.”

He noticed Calaca in the store on March 26, when she stole confectionary goods worth £112, and then worked his way back through CCTV after a stock gap was noticed and kept spotting her in the footage.

He said: “I am 100 per cent sure it is the same woman in each instance and I am 99.9 per cent confident that woman is Rosa Calaca.

“She would wear the same clothing, same hat, same shoes and have the same bag.

“The face became familiar and imprinted in my mind.”

Calaca had six previous convictions for shoplifting between February 2013 and September 2014.

After the trial, a warrant was issued for Calaca’s arrest but minutes after the case finished she appeared and later handed herself in to police.

After an appearance in court the following day she was released on bail and will be sentenced on February 26.

(Pictures: SWNS)