‘I shoplifted £3million of items to fund a drug addiction - shops make it too easy for thieves’

manchestereveningnews.co.uk:

A former shoplifter who claims he stole £3million worth of items has said shops make it ‘too easy’ for thieves to strike. Cullan Mais says he would steal £2k of items a day - up to £14k-a-week - at the peak of his criminal career.

The 32-year-old said he turned to shoplifting to fund his drug habit - he had begun taking heroin at age 18. By 22, he was struggling to fund his addiction, until in 2010 he managed to get his hands on a car, a move which kickstarted the shoplifting.

Over the years he went to prison 10 times, all for shoplifting offences, and served a total of three years. He has since turned his life around after 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. READ MORE: The Greater Manchester town that's 'like a war' where locals say it 'kicks off every week' READ MORE: Killer drivers, owner of dangerous dogs which mauled six-year-old and robber among those locked up this week in Greater Manchester Now Cullan has warned shops that they could do more to dissuade thieves.

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.