"I was a shoplifter and pinched £3million items - it's too easy for thieves to get away with it - shops display empty boxes to combat crime"
- 8 months ago
An ex-shoplifter who claims he pinched £3million worth of items says it's too easy for thieves to get away with it and suggests shops display empty boxes to combat crime.
Cullan Mais, 32, says he used to steal £2k of items a day - up to £14k-a-week - shoplifting at the peak of his criminality and in total stole items with a retail value of £3million.
He says shoplifting was "harder to kick" than his drug habit.
He has since turned his life around but says shops make it too easy for shoplifters and advises them to put in place stricter measures to deter people.
Cullan suggests shop keepers should use empty boxes when displaying high value goods, avoid keeping spirits on the shop floor and place tills close to exits.
He also recommends they be aware of blind spots and have security at all times - if they can.
He was nicked in August 2020 for shoplifting and received a suspended sentence which spurred him on to get clean and on the straight and narrow.
In total, he went to prison 10 times, all for shoplifting offences, and served a total of three years.
Cullan, a podcaster who works for a charity that helps people with drug addictions, from Cardiff, Wales, said: “First of all you are never going to stop shoplifting completely but shops should always have tills by their doors.
“They should be much more aware of their blind spots and stop putting valuables on the shop floors.
“Some shops have started using empty boxes for higher value goods - there should be more of this.
“If ever a shop had security, I wouldn't steal from there. I’d simply go to one that didn’t have it - so more shops should have security.
“The main one I would say though is stop putting alcohol on shop floors - if there’s alcohol there it will be nicked.”
Cullan began taking heroin when he was 18.
By 22, he was struggling to fund his addiction, until in 2010 he managed to get his hands on a car.
Cullan said: “The moment I got wheels is the moment I discovered shoplifting.
“This was next level - it made it so easy. You could just blag the stuff and make a getaway.
“I started off with local shops.
“At the start I used to ask people in my neighbourhood what they wanted and would go into the town centre and steal clothes.
“Then I started going to supermarkets and stealing food.
“You’d be amazed at how many people were after cheap meat and cheese.
“Co-op always had alcohol right on the shop floor, so that that quickly became my bread and butter."
Cullan said it got to the point where he was making £2k-a-day “with ease” - largely from alcohol.
“The most I ever managed to steal in one go without a bag was 19 bottles of spirits, with no bag.
“It was about six bottles of expensive gin, four bottles of whiskey, and a couple of bottles of Cîroc vodka, some champagne, Moet and Bollinger.
“I had a Barber gilet on with chest pockets, normal pockets, and in the back, it had a wide pocket that you could put stuff in.”
Cullan Mais, 32, says he used to steal £2k of items a day - up to £14k-a-week - shoplifting at the peak of his criminality and in total stole items with a retail value of £3million.
He says shoplifting was "harder to kick" than his drug habit.
He has since turned his life around but says shops make it too easy for shoplifters and advises them to put in place stricter measures to deter people.
Cullan suggests shop keepers should use empty boxes when displaying high value goods, avoid keeping spirits on the shop floor and place tills close to exits.
He also recommends they be aware of blind spots and have security at all times - if they can.
He was nicked in August 2020 for shoplifting and received a suspended sentence which spurred him on to get clean and on the straight and narrow.
In total, he went to prison 10 times, all for shoplifting offences, and served a total of three years.
Cullan, a podcaster who works for a charity that helps people with drug addictions, from Cardiff, Wales, said: “First of all you are never going to stop shoplifting completely but shops should always have tills by their doors.
“They should be much more aware of their blind spots and stop putting valuables on the shop floors.
“Some shops have started using empty boxes for higher value goods - there should be more of this.
“If ever a shop had security, I wouldn't steal from there. I’d simply go to one that didn’t have it - so more shops should have security.
“The main one I would say though is stop putting alcohol on shop floors - if there’s alcohol there it will be nicked.”
Cullan began taking heroin when he was 18.
By 22, he was struggling to fund his addiction, until in 2010 he managed to get his hands on a car.
Cullan said: “The moment I got wheels is the moment I discovered shoplifting.
“This was next level - it made it so easy. You could just blag the stuff and make a getaway.
“I started off with local shops.
“At the start I used to ask people in my neighbourhood what they wanted and would go into the town centre and steal clothes.
“Then I started going to supermarkets and stealing food.
“You’d be amazed at how many people were after cheap meat and cheese.
“Co-op always had alcohol right on the shop floor, so that that quickly became my bread and butter."
Cullan said it got to the point where he was making £2k-a-day “with ease” - largely from alcohol.
“The most I ever managed to steal in one go without a bag was 19 bottles of spirits, with no bag.
“It was about six bottles of expensive gin, four bottles of whiskey, and a couple of bottles of Cîroc vodka, some champagne, Moet and Bollinger.
“I had a Barber gilet on with chest pockets, normal pockets, and in the back, it had a wide pocket that you could put stuff in.”