A shoplifter who was arrested in a Welsh Tesco car park with goods worth £5,000 had driven from London on a thieving spree, a court heard.
Giorgi Khvedelidze was found with stolen items in his car with security tags still attached.
However, police were not able to assign the items to specific shops or incidents of theft so were unable to charge him.
Khvedelidze also had a screwdriver, magnet, four pairs of scissors and a pocket knife which a judge described as "items obviously of use for a shoplifter".
Swansea Crown Court heard that officers received information and went to the car park of Tesco in Milford Haven on July 3 this year where they arrested Khvedelidze in his vehicleGoogle mapsSwansea Crown Court heard that officers received information and went to the car park of Tesco in Milford Haven on July 3 this year where they arrested Khvedelidze in his vehicle.
Police uncovered £5,000 worth of items from from Tesco, Aldi, and Boots stores.
Alycia Carpanini, prosecuting said the 47-year-old drove to the Welsh store from his home in London via Ceredigion and Carmarthenshire.
Despite not being able to link the vast majority of stolen items to particular shops, they could connect Khvedelidze to an incident of shoplifting earlier that same day at the Tesco shop in Cardigan.
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Police say the incident saw more than £700 worth of health and beauty products such as razors and electric toothbrushes being taken.
During his interview, Khvedelidze said tools found in his car had innocent explanations.
In a statement, he said the screwdriver was for fixing the car, the scissors were unused, the pocket knife was a useful multitool which he used every day, and the magnets were for picking up small pieces of metal from the clocks he liked repairing.
Khvedelidze, from Acton, London, had previously pleaded guilt to theft from Tesco in Cardigan and to going equipped for theft.
A shoplifter who was arrested in a Welsh Tesco car park with goods worth £5,000 had driven from London on a thieving spree, a court heard
GETTY IMAGESThe court heard that when the defendant committed the offences while he was on court bail ahead of a trial at Maidstone Crown Court in July 2025 in relation to unconnected theft allegations.
Ryan Bowen, for Khvedelidze, said the offences were in relation to the defendant's "emotional state of mind" following the recent death of his mother.
He said his client had used the two months he had spent in custody following his arrest by learning English and he said Khvedelidze was keen obtain a work permit as soon as he could.
The recorder made Khvedelidze subject to a 12-month conditional discharge.
