Police team foils high-value shop theft

Three people have been charged after neighbourhood police were in the right place at the right time to foil a suspected high-value shop theft.

Security staff at a supermarket in Front Street, Arnold, spotted a group filling a plastic bin with hundreds of pounds worth of goods on Saturday (30 May) around 6pm.

Police were contacted using an emergency dialling system and were able to detain the group within the store.

Officers from the Gedling Central neighbourhood policing team then found a car nearby containing further suspected stolen items.

Additional shop thefts had been reported at two other local stores in which clothing, confectionary and other food products had been taken.

Gianni Ionita, 18, Daianna Ionita, 20, and Bernandi Matei, 32, all of Chadwick Road, Nottingham, have each been charged with three counts of shop theft.

They are due to appear before magistrates in Nottingham on 19 June 2026.

Inspector Steven King, local area commander for Gedling, said:

"Our neighbourhood officers are in regular contact with shop security teams and this joined up approach was in evidence with these arrests and charges.

"Shop theft can have a serious impact on local businesses so disrupting this criminality is an important part of our role."