A SHOPMAN who stole £3 million worth of food and drink says people these days believe they have the right to take whatever they want.
Cullan Mais, 32, was sent to prison 10 times after robbing shops in a three-year spree.
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The now podcaster, from Cardiff, Wales, started using heroin at the age of 18, leaving him trapped in a lifestyle of shoplifting to fund his habit.
He used to steal £2,000 worth of items every day – admitting: “I didn’t care about being arrested in six months – the only thing I thought about was getting drugs for that day.”
As shoplifting rates hit an all-time high in the UK, Cullan said punishments needed to be more severe, after negligent caging only spurred him on.
He said: “People now have a license to steal and the situation is getting even worse with the cost of living crisis.
“I think that, personally, if it is at an organized level, the penalties need to be tougher because, at the end of the day, these people know that the penalties are weak.
“When you go to an off-licence, everything is behind Perspex – it’s a bit dystopian, but it works.
“Large supermarkets should lock up all the meat, alcohol and aftershave and then have just one guy there whose job it is to unlock the goods for shoppers.”
Cullan said rates are rising because sentences for shoplifting are shorter than for drug trafficking.
He said: “The moment I arrived [a car] That was the moment I discovered shoplifting.
“This was next level – it made everything so easy. You could just report things and run away.
“I started with local stores. At first I asked people in my neighborhood what they wanted and went downtown to steal clothes.
“Then I started going to supermarkets and stealing food. You’d be surprised how many people were after cheap meat and cheese.
“The Co-op always had alcohol in store so that quickly became my bread and butter.”
Cullan said it got to the point where he was earning £2,000 a day “easily” – mainly from alcohol.
“The most I managed to steal at once, without a bag, was 19 bottles of spirits,” he added.
“It was about six bottles of expensive gin, four bottles of whiskey and a few bottles of Cîroc vodka, some champagne, Moet and Bollinger.”
What are the penalties for shoplifting?
According to sentencing guidelinesa conviction for shoplifting will result in a criminal record and prison time.
A police warning may be given as an alternative to prosecution. If accepted, this warning also comes with a criminal record.
If the goods taken are worth less than £200, the maximum sentence is six months in custody.
However, if the stolen items are worth more than £200, the maximum sentence is seven years in custody.
Cullan decided to change his life when he was cut for the tenth time, aged 28.
Shortly afterwards he was rushed to hospital with pneumonia and sepsis after a decade of drug abuse.
After doctors stabilized his condition, Cullan’s trial date arrived, where he could say he had changed and was now clean.
“They agreed to give me a second chance and didn’t give me a prison sentence,” Cullan said.
“After that, I was able to slowly recover from both my heroin addiction and shoplifting.
“In some ways, shoplifting was harder to combat than heroin.”
Cullan now works for a charity that helps others suffering from drug addiction.
This story originally appeared on The-sun.com read the full story
