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Goods worth thousands stolen in shoplifting raids at Spires Retail Park in Armagh

At least three incidents - two at the same store and just days apart - have been caught on CCTV, while a 'potential link' with another incident in Enniskillen is also being investigated

Spires Retail Park in Armagh

Clothing worth more than £1,200 has been stolen from a shop at the Spires Retail Park in Armagh.

Two men were caught on CCTV walking into the Moy Road retail premises and helping themselves.

It is one of a number of reports of shoplifting between investigated by police in Armagh and Enniskillen, who have appealed for information.

It was reported on Friday, December 1, that clothing, with a total value of more than £1,200, was missing from the Spires shop.

CCTV shows two men entering the store separately around 8.35pm the previous evening, (Thursday), before placing items into a bag and leaving.

One of the men is described as being approximately 5′ 11″ and of stocky build, with a beard. He was described as wearing a black baseball cap, grey jacket, dark jogging bottoms and grey trainers. It is believed that he has a distinctive scar on his left cheek.

The second man is described as being approximately 5′ 11″, of slim build and wearing a black and yellow bobble hat, a dark-coloured ‘work’ jacket and trousers, both of which were stained with white paint, and dark-coloured work boots.

This follows a previous report shortly before 5.40pm on Sunday, November 26 that a man had entered the same retail premises and placed items of clothing into a bag before leaving.

He was described as wearing a flat cap, black jacket and navy jeans.

It was also reported to police around 4.20pm on Thursday, November 30, that one man, out of a group of males in different retail premises in the Moy Road area, had been seen filling a bag with items from the store.

The reported value of these items is almost £1,000.

It was also reported to police on Wednesday, November 29 that around £1,100 worth of clothing was stolen from retail premises in the Quay Pass area of Enniskillen.

Two men were reported to have entered the store separately around 2pm. One of them placed a number of items into a bag before both left in different directions.

The first man was described as being of medium build and aged around 30-40 years old while the second was described as being of heavy build. Both men were reported to be wearing peaked caps.

Inspector Tate said: “Our enquiries are ongoing and I would appeal to anyone who may be able to assist to contact us on 101, quoting reference 510 of 01/12/23. At this time, we are investigating a potential link between these reports.”

As part of Operation Season’s Greetings, there are already increased patrols in keys areas in an effort to prevent crime and reassure both shoppers and business owners.

Chief Superintendent Darrin Jones, Business crime lead for PSNI said: “We know that this is a key time of year for retailers and as a Police Service, we want to reassure businesses that we remain committed to tackling business crime and developing our established partnerships with organisations such as Retail NI, Retailers Against Crime and the Federation of Small Businesses, Northern Ireland Retail Consortium, Belfast City Centre Management and others to ensure Northern Ireland remains a safe place to do business.

“Working together, we can reduce business crime and we’re asking everyone to play their part. If you’re in a shop or in business premises, and you see something suspicious, report it to us.

“That piece of information can help us apprehend criminals, bring them before the Court and return stock to retailers where we can.”

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