A gang of Lego thieves have been banned from every B&M store in England and Wales after stealing more than £4,000-worth of the toy bricks. Conlon McDonagh, Tom McDonagh, and Patrick Ward, all aged 22, raided B&M stores in Nottinghamshire over a two-day spree last week.
CCTV showed them wearing baseball caps as they entered the stores before stuffing high-value kits into reusable shopping bags and walking out. A manhunt was launched after stores in Worksop, Mansfield and Netherfield were targeted in two days – with over £4,000 worth of Lego sets taken.
They were caught when a police officer spotted a vehicle full of toys on the A17 near Newark last Wednesday. All three crooks were arrested and later charged with three counts of theft.
Conlon McDonagh, of Southwall, Tom McDonagh, of Enfield, and Ward, of Southwall, admitted the charges at Nottingham Magistrates’ Court last Friday. They were each sentenced to 18 weeks, suspended for 12 months and banned from all B&M stores in England and Wales for a year.
The court heard the first theft took place at the B&M store in Bridge Place, Worksop, at around 5pm on Bank Holiday Monday. One of the men distracted staff while the other two stole nearly £650 worth of Lego from the shelves.
At 8pm on the same evening, the trio targeted the B&M store in Baums Lane, Mansfield. They filled up four large bags with Lego products worth approximately £1,000 before leaving without paying.
The next day, they stole almost £3,000 worth of Lego from the B&M store at Victoria Retail Park in Netherfield. On this occasion, a shop assistant challenged them as they were leaving.
One of thieves swore at her before they all fled in a car. Sergeant Antony Coleman, of Nottinghamshire Police, said: “Thanks to the instincts of the patrolling officers whose suspicions were aroused by the considerable amount of Lego in the vehicle, these brazen thieves were all swiftly caught.
“They travelled to Nottinghamshire to commit these high-value thefts, thinking they could get away with it. They were wrong.”
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