An airport warehouse cleaner was sentenced yesterday for stealing thousands of pounds worth of merchandise and then selling it on eBay.
Eduard Caia ,28, of Lemington Close, Hounslow, worked as a warehouse cleaner in Heston for Alpha LSG, an in-flight catering company, when he stole the items.
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The products that were illegally acquired were stored at the warehouse site in south west London.
He was caught when an airline employee noticed the goods for sale online and reported it to company officials.
His superiors then began an internal investigation in which they posed as potential customers in order to confirm the cleaner’s identity.
The stolen goods included: 1,700 amenity kits worth £8,680, 700 bottles of cans of alcohol worth more than £4,000 and pyjamas and slippers worth £1,175, amounting to a total of £13,855.
Caia pleaded guilty on Friday October 25, 2019, at Isleworth Crown Court, to one count of theft and one count of acquiring criminal property between October 18, 2016 and October 18, 2017.
He was sentenced on Thursday November 28, 2019 to 21-months imprisonment, suspended for 18-months, and ordered to work 200 hours without pay.
Caia made £10,000 in profit over the one year period from listing the goods on the online trading site.
An advert on Google Jobs states that full time cleaning staff for Alpha LSG make £8.21 per hour.
PC Blair added: “Caia was set to make more money selling all that was left in his house, but he didn’t count on the tight-knit relationship of the airlines, his own employers and the police.
“I really must applaud Alpha LSG who wasted no time in launching an internal investigation once they suspected a staff member of criminality.
“This case is evidence of how seriously this kind of crime is treated by businesses working at Heathrow Airport and the police.”
Words: Michelle Del Rey | Featured Image: Metropolitan Police