'You're nicked': Co-op thief arrested in sting op
CCTV images capture the moment a shoplifter was caught in a targeted police sting in south London.
Derick Bell, 36, was in the Co-op food shop in Lower Marsh near Waterloo Station on Monday 27 January where he started emptying the contents of a meat chiller into a bag.
He didn't realise police officers were waiting in the back of the shop, ready to pounce, after the store had reported several thefts. Bell was caught in the act by officers who swooped in and took him down, arresting him at the scene.
He appeared at Croydon Magistrates' Court the following day where he was jailed for eight weeks after pleading guilty to two counts of shoplifting.
Metropolitan Police Insp Darren Watson said: "This is an excellent example of how the Met is taking a targeted approach to tackle the type of offending that matters most to Londoners."
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