Five people have been charged after stealing almost £10,000 of items in a robbery at a Boots store in London on Wednesday.
The Metropolitan Police said officers attended Boots on Hornchurch High Street on July 22 following reports of an “ongoing commercial robbery”.
It added that the suspects had already fled the location in a vehicle but were intercepted by police “less than 30 minutes later” and arrested.
Read more: Cornwall pharmacy loses £5k in card machine scam
And police today told C+D that three men and two women have been charged in connection with the robbery.
Ricky Virdee, 37, of Beechwood Gardens, Ilford; Damian Linsey, 46, of Barrowfield Close, Edmonton; Samuel Boateng, 46, of Manor Park, Newham; Clare Daly, 41, of Manor Park, Newham; and Margaret Lander, 32, of Manton Road, Enfield, were charged with burglary on July 23.
Virdee, Linsey, Boateng and Daly have been remanded in custody and will appear at Thames Magistrates’ Court on July 24, while Lander has been bailed to appear at Barkingside Magistrates’ Court on August 7.
Read more: ‘Serious public health risk’: Three jailed over £1m Mounjaro theft
The Metropolitan Police said on Twitter that “all stolen items, believed to be valued just under £10,000, were returned to the store”, and there were no reported injuries to staff or members of the public.
A video shared on Twitter and responded to by the Metropolitan Police appears to show four people stealing items from the store’s perfume cabinet.
Superintendent Sharon Brind, who leads neighbourhood policing in the area, said the Metropolitan Police “continues to take reports of shoplifting and commercial burglary incredibly seriously”.
“I’m pleased we’ve been able to secure charges so swiftly following this incident.”
Read more: Pharmacist suspended after police caution for stealing drugs
It comes after Devon and Cornwall Police this week appealed for help identifying two men “in relation to a fraud investigation”, after a Cornwall pharmacy lost £5,000 in a suspected scam involving a chip and pin device.
And it follows three men being jailed earlier this month after stealing nearly £1m worth of weight loss drugs from a pharmaceutical distribution site.
