Gatwick Airport: London stole £2,000 from duty free shops

Londoner Guillermo Vargas was caught just moments before the plane left Gatwick with ten pairs of sunglasses, a bottle of alcohol, two bottles of fragrance, a Real Madrid football shirt and a box of headphones.

Vargas was on his way to Seville shortly after 11pm on September 8 when he was spotted trying on sunglasses at a duty-free shop in the airport and leaving without paying.

A plane passing under the bridge at Gatwick Airport (Image: Gatwick Airport)

The 30-year-old was seen on CCTV taking items and hiding them inside a carry-on bag without paying for them, but quick-thinking airport security alerted the police who attended his gate just moments before the plane was about to depart.

He was taken off the plane and questioned by officers. He admitted stealing sunglasses and a bottle of alcohol, and further search found he had ten pairs of sunglasses in his bag, two bottles of fragrance, as well as a Real Madrid football shirt and a box of headphones.

Officers also seized £8,000 in cash which he had on his person.

Duty free at another airport (Image: Wikimedia Commons)

At Crawley Magistrates’ Court on October 16, Vargas, of Durham Road, Canning Town, London, admitted four counts of theft from a shop.

Vargas was sentenced for 300 hours of unpaid work and must also pay £85 costs and a £114 surcharge.

Detective Sergeant Ian Warncken from Gatwick CID said: “Vargas must have thought he had got away as he took his seat on the aircraft.

“But we work in partnership with retailers and with London Gatwick Airport to ensure that he was stopped and arrested.

“We are determined to prevent shop thefts which cause concern to communities and can be very stressful for the public and staff working in shops.

“Vargas has now been sentenced, and it demonstrates that we will pursue prosecutions against offenders.”