A member of an organised crime group involved in stealing around £100,000 worth of alcohol from supermarkets across Surrey has been sentenced to almost three years in prison at Guildford Crown Court earlier this month.

Nicolae Budencea, 37, from Enfield, London, pleaded guilty to 19 counts of conspiracy to commit theft (shoplifting) at an earlier hearing. Earlier this month, he was jailed for 32 months and two week.

Budencea was identified as part of an organised crime group (OCG) that travelled across the country committing thefts. The group targeted stores multiple times, stealing between £500 and £7,000 worth of alcohol on each occasion.

CCTV footage showed Budencea acting as a lookout during these thefts. Phone downloads revealed conversations among OCG members, indicating locations of security staff and surveillance teams to avoid detection.

Working closely with security heads from Tesco and Sainsbury’s, officers discovered Budencea’s involvement in an additional 34 offences nationwide, which were considered during sentencing.

While Budencea actively took part in thefts totaling nearly £100,000, the OCG is believed to have stolen around £495,000 worth of alcohol overall.

The offences at various supermarkets occurred between October 2022 and November 2024,

PC Lacey, the investigating officer, said: “The successful outcome in court is the result of a joint partnership formed between the neighbourhood policing investigation team from Staines-upon-Thames, Tesco and Sainsbury’s, alongside Op Opal, the national intelligence unit focused on serious organised acquisitive crime (SOAC).

“The investigation involved viewing hours of CCTV and taking numerous statements, providing overwhelming evidence to prove the part that Budencea played in this prolific shoplifting OCG.

“The sentence he received highlights our determination to crack down on shoplifting and that this type of crime will not be tolerated.”