An Irish labourer went on a 12-hour burglary spree nabbing over €1,680 in cash along with tablets and phones - just before he was to be given the boot from Australia.
Fionnbharr McHugh, 32, was set to be deported from the country for overstaying his visa but is now facing sentence over his thefts in a Sydney suburb earlier this year.
It was two months after the incidents when cops made a breakthrough in the case and then nailed McHugh after CCTV revealed he wore a pair of runners which investigators found he was in possession of when they moved on him.
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He appeared before Newtown Local Court via video link on Tuesday as he pleaded guilty to six charges against him over his targeting of five businesses in the Leichhardt area.
The burglar began his looting at around 2.30pm on March 6 when he first raided a Montessori after jumping a fence and breaking in through a door which was locked.
After taking the childcare centre's branded picnic bag, he stole four iPads, a laptop, an iPod, three Apple chargers and two Apple keyboards.
Afterwards, McHugh made his way to a nearby shopping centre and into a food court when he jumped over the counter and took three Samsung tablets and over €400 in cash belonging to two businesses at around 5.30pm.
Next he targeted a pet shop in the same shopping centre, waiting until 9pm before breaking into the store and stealing over €1,000 and a €67 gift voucher.
His final place to loot was a food shop in Leichhardt.
McHugh managed to gain access to the property through a manhole in the shop's roof and then breaking through five locked doors within the property.
He then took two iPhones, an iPad, a UV light cleaner and a barcode scanner before fleeing.
Two months later, on May 10, McHugh was detained at Villawood Detention Centre because of his expired visa.
Some days beforehand, police searched the Sydney hostel he had been staying at and found the stash of items he had stolen in his suitcase.
CCTV also showed that McHugh wore distinctive red, black and white runners as he committed the burglaries and he was still in possession of them when cops questioned him.
While in detention, investigators took his DNA before he was arrested and charged.
This week he pleaded guilty to three counts of breaking and entering to steal to a value under €40,000, two counts of theft below €1,700 and one count possessing an item which is suspected of being stolen.
He will now be sentenced at a later date.Get breaking news to your inbox by signing up to our newsletter
