THREE men have been arrested for a string of offences after being stopped by police, who found their car loaded with a huge haul of 115 bottles of stolen booze.
Officers patrolling in Loughborough, Leicestershire on Sunday pulled over a Seat and detained the occupants for a stop and search.
With the eight bags of alcohol they recovered, Brits on social media were left puzzled as to how the thieving trio even managed to evade being caught at the shop.
They were quickly arrested for offences including theft, handling stolen goods and drug possession.
The driver also had driving not in accordance with a licence, and without insurance, and failing a drug wipe added to his list.
The car can be seen stopped at the side of the road with a police car right behind.
The stolen loot, which is bagged in heavy-duty supermarket carrier bags to simply look like a big shop, sits on the pavement.
On closer inspection, the bags are topped with bulky items such as fruit, multipacks of crisps and a packet of wraps, seemingly to disguise what lies beneath.
A picture seemingly taken back at the station reveals the eight bags to be filled with 115 bottles of gin, wine and whisky.
A device to remove security tags was also recovered from the car, along with several tags from their stealing spree.
The images were shared to social media on Sunday with the caption: “Loughborough. This Seat was stopped this evening whilst officers were on patrols around the Town Centre and University.
“The three male occupants were detained for a stop search where this haul of suspected stolen property was found, along with a tag remover which one of the males had in his pocket.
“A number of tags were also found in the footwell within the rear of the car.
“The males were arrested for numerous offences including theft, handling stolen goods, drug possession and the driver was also dealt with for driving otherwise than in accordance with a licence, no insurance as well as failing a drug wipe.
“Enquiries were conducted with immigration, with one of the males also being of interest to them. Great team effort by the officers involved.”
The post has since received over 430 likes and more than 70 comments from Brits praising the police for their bust.
One said: “Fantastic work from you guys. It’s tragic that we can’t punish them properly though.
“We claim to jail shoplifters from between 6 months and 7 years depending on the amount stolen, but we rarely do.
“I’m starting to think some of the Arab countries have the right idea on how to deal with the problem.”
Another agreed: “Then [a] smacked hand [and] told not to do it again. Feel sorry for police officers barking up a dead tree.
A third commented: “Just walking out the shops with all that and thinking no one will see you.”
Another replied: “Well obviously it worked, because they weren’t stopped at the store. Bloody scumbags.”
A fifth added: “Bloody hell, that’s some haul they stole. Great work guys.”
Another quipped: “That’s the Christmas do sorted.”
Leicestershire Police has been contacted for comment.
