Shoplifting suspect arrested after image appears in the Mail

DETECTIVES arrested a suspected shoplifter after CCTV of a man stealing a trolley filled with alcohol was published in the Mail.

Police swooped at a 21-year-old man's address in the city centre after an anonymous caller contacted detectives during an operation to crack down on shoplifting.

The man was arrested on suspicion of stealing hundreds of pounds of alcohol and meat from Tesco in Beverley on July 17.

CCTV images of 24 suspected thieves were published in the Mail during Operation Lilly, a two-month operation to identify shoplifters who have stolen in the East Riding.

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Detective Sergeant Mark Ormiston, who led the operation, said: "This was a good result and it wouldn't have happened without the images being published in the Mail.

"An anonymous caller contacted us, giving us a name for the suspect, which we checked, and it seemed to fit with the CCTV image and the type of theft it was.

"We arrested a suspect s and searched the property."

After the arrest, the man was taken to Priory Road Police Station in west Hull, where he was interviewed by detectives.

He was later released on bail, with a condition banning him from entering any retail premises in the East Riding.

DS Ormiston said: "This should be a warning to anyone considering shoplifting that they could find themselves banned from going in any shop across a huge county, before they are even charged with any offence."

Operation Lilly was launched in July to solve dozens of undetected shoplifting offences from across the county.

For the first weeks of the operation, which began in July, detectives trawled through CCTV images of suspected shoplifters who had not been identified.

The second phase of the operation, launched on August 1, was the arrest stage. The remaining suspects had their photographs published in the Mail.

At the end of the operation, police revealed 95 of the offences had been solved.

DS Ormiston said: "Although the operation has come to an end, this arrest shows we will still act on information if it comes in.

"We haven't arrested all the suspects yet and we won't be forgetting about them.

"Overall, the operation has been a big success.

"We have detected lots of offences and we have sent out a message that shoplifting won't be tolerated and we do take it seriously."

He said there had been particular success in Goole after the arrest of several shop- lifters who would travel into the East Riding to offend.

DS Ormiston said: "That has definitely been the most successful area, as there were several gangs who would travel into the west of the county from elsewhere purely to commit offences.

"We have cleared up a lot of undetected crimes that took place in Goole."