A Romanian mother who shoplifted £120,000 worth of perfume and cosmetics from Boots by stuffing the items down her skirt has been jailed for 32 months.
Bianca Mirica, 20, was part of an organised gang of female thieves who used various tactics to raid stores across London.
One gang member would distract security while the others ‘cleared the shelves’ before simply walking out, Southwark Crown Court heard.
And on one occasion, Mirica was spotted using a small key to open a locked cabinet filled with expensive products.
Following her arrest the mother-of-three denied she was part of a gang and told police that all the make-up and perfumes were for personal use.
But the she later admitted 30 counts of theft from branches of the high street chemist across London between December 2023 and May 2024, totalling £119,318.
Mirica, who has three previous convictions for similar offences dating back to her arrival in Britain five years ago, snatched £17,000 worth of items in one raid on a Boots in Hornchurch, east London, on March 7 last year.
And on another expedition the Romanian national took ten Yves Saint Laurent concealers worth £300.
None of the goods she stole have been recovered, Ben Wild, prosecuting, said.
Mirica appeared via videolink from HMP Bronzefield wearing a red t-shirt and rocking her month-old baby in her arms.
Sentencing Mirica, Judge Sally-Ann Hales, KC, said: ‘You are now 20 years old, you were 19 when you committed these offences.
‘The pre-sentence report indicates you arrived in the UK approximately five years ago…between 6 November 2019 and 24 September 2024 you have accrued three convictions for five offences – all are offences of theft or going equipped for theft.
‘They all relate to very similar offences of shoplifting.’
The judge said the mother-of-three had been ‘largely uncooperative’ with police in interview following her arrest.
‘You denied involvement in a broader criminal enterprise, you claimed that the goods stolen were for your personal use and that you made no financial gain.
‘In short, you sought to minimise your offending and showed little if any insight into your behaviour.
‘Your suggestion that you stole the goods for personal grooming purposes is patently untrue.’
She added: ‘Like the author of the pre-sentence report, I very much doubt you are sorry for committing these offences.
‘Over a period of six months you’ve committed 18 organised and high value thefts.
‘You were brazen about it. Walking into a store, clearing the shelves or a cabinet and walking out.
‘Such offences can impact on morale of retail staff, and ultimately may result in loss of revenue being passed on to other customers by increases in prices.’
Mirica’s offending comes amid a surge in shoplifting, with the British Retail Consortium estimating shop thefts reached 20million last year, up four million on 2023.
The cost to stores is estimated at £2.2billion.
Mirica will serve 40 per cent of her sentence at the mothers and babies unit at HMP Bronzefield, which houses Lucy Letby and Constance Marten, before she is released on licence.
Her two other children, aged three and 18 months, have been sent back to Romania to be looked after by friends and family.