Tote box thief caught thanks to Fed members

24/11/2025

A prolific thief has been sentenced in court following collaboration between the Fed and retailers in the South East of England.

The man, who appeared in court on October 1, was responsible for stealing thousands of magazines, collectables, and other items from tote boxes outside shops in Surrey and East Sussex.

He was given a custodial sentence of 10 months, suspended for two years, as well as a three-month curfew monitored by electronic tag, and has been banned from driving for 12 months. In addition, he was ordered to pay a fine of £300 and court costs of £158.

Chetan Patel, owner of Felbridge Village Stores, in Surrey, who was instrumental in bringing the thief to justice, said: “In February 2024, I noticed one of my deliveries didn’t match up with my invoice from Smiths News. For some reason, I checked the CCTV and I saw someone come to the car park but helped themselves to one of the boxes.

“I then remembered that some of our bread had gone missing the week before. My instinct made me look at that date on the CCTV and I saw the same guy help himself to some bread and milk.”

After contacting other shops in the area, Mr Patel discovered that more retailers had suffered the same fate. When a neighbouring retailer checked his CCTV, he confirmed it was the same person in the same car stealing items from his tote boxes.

Mr Patel added: “I set up a WhatsApp group and other retailers reported they were having the same problem. I told everyone in the group to make their own individual police reports.”

Another Fed member, Manhar Patel, got involved and suggested they contact all the affected shops. He liaised with the police and the Fed to help make sure that all these retailers received a response.

The police eventually tracked the thief down using Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) before raiding his home, where they discovered thousands of stolen items.

Mr Patel thanked Manhar Patel and the Fed’s news and operations director Brian Murphy for all their help.

He said: “Manhar and Brian made a big difference. Brian got involved through Manhar and was the link between Fed members. He was in constant contact for updates and was very helpful.”

Steve Pinder, risk and loss prevention manager at Smiths News, said: “Smiths News is proud to work in partnership with the Fed and its members to tackle crime and support those affected.

“While incidents involving doorstep deliveries are, thankfully, rare, it’s reassuring to know that there is collaboration between retailers, trade bodies, and the police.”