Cigarette thief who struck at border village shop is locked up
Mongan was identified as the thief using facial recognition.
A thief who stole more than £11,000 worth of cigarettes and tobacco has been locked up.
Michael Mongan, from Birmingham, but of no fixed address, struck at a host of shops - including in the village of Audlem, near Whitchurch in North Shropshire.
Mongan appeared at Chester Crown Court on July 3 to be sentenced after pleading guilty to five counts of theft from a shop.
He was jailed for 29 months for stealing a total of £11,086.60 of goods, including tobacco and alcohol from shops in Middlewich, Knutsford, Wrexham, Ely, Audlem, and Sandbach.
On February 7 he stole tobacco and cigarettes from the One Stop Shop on High Street, Ely, Cambridgeshire worth £2,581.95.
Then on February 19 the 27-year-old went into the Overton convenience store in Salop Road, Wrexham and stole cigarettes to the value of £3,913.86. He was identified as the culprit through facial recognition.
On Wednesday, February 25, he entered to Co-Op store in Audlem and stole £3,173.40 worth of goods.
The same day he targeted the Co-Op on Parkgate Lane, Knutsford where he took £1,438.24 worth of cigarettes and tobacco.
Then on February 26 he stole £1,819.50 worth of cigarettes and tobacco from Morrisons Daily Store on Poplar Drive, Middlewich, and on March 7 stole another £741.60 of cigarettes, tobacco and alcohol from the Co-Op on Middlewich Road, Sandbach.
PC James Rowley said: “Following extensive CCTV enquiries and cross border enquiries, we were able to identify Mongan as one of two males who had targeted the shops in a month-long spree.
“Now he is paying the price for his actions and will spend the foreseeable future behind bars. Mongan initially entered a not-guilty plea, eventually changing this due to our commitment to strengthen the case and bring him to justice."