Two men who stole £12,000 worth of lingerie and sex toys from an Ann Summers store in Nottingham city centre were "not mastermind criminals", police said after their sentencing.
Jason Kamal, 48, and Ashley Hillsley, 21, wore high-visibility tops as they broke into the store on Long Row in the early hours of 14 August. They were arrested within minutes of police receiving a call reporting the burglary.
Sentences handed down
At Nottingham Crown Court on Thursday, Kamal was given a three-year custodial sentence for both burglaries, while Hillsley, of Big Barn Lane in Mansfield, received a community order for the Ann Summers break-in.
Kamal, of no fixed address, was also linked to a previous break-in at a mobile phone shop in Arnold, where he left a vape with his DNA "all over it", Nottinghamshire Police confirmed.
Rapid arrest and recovery
Officers received a report of a burglary in progress at Ann Summers in Long Row at 4.32am on 14 August. The offenders were said to have smashed a window to gain entry.
Within three minutes of the call, officers arrived and detained the two men as they tried to flee. They discovered £12,059 worth of Ann Summers merchandise in the boot of Hillsley's car, including lingerie and sex toys.
Kamal initially denied having set foot in the Ann Summers store, yet his face was clearly captured on CCTV footage. Hillsley claimed he had been "bullied" into taking part, insisting his role was merely to act as lookout and provide assistance. He said he had been promised a substantial sum of money and was told he would no longer be "a nobody", according to the force.
Second burglary uncovered
Following the Ann Summers raid, Kamal was also arrested on suspicion of a separate burglary at Professional Mobile in Front Street in Arnold on 28 July. In addition to leaving a vape at the scene, he was found in possession of a stolen mobile phone taken from the Arnold store. During that burglary, Kamal had made off with £13,000 worth of electronic equipment.
Chief Inspector Kylie Davies, of Nottinghamshire Police, said: "These are not mastermind criminals, quite the opposite, who had no chance whatsoever of getting away with this crime."
"All the evidence pointed to them where they had no other option than plead guilty to the offence at court."
She added: "The officers called to this incident did a fantastic job of detaining two suspects within minutes of the call coming in. Not only that but they recovered the stolen items taken from Ann Summers. Business crime is not a victimless crime. Our officers carried out extensive work to ensure this case got to court and to ensure the owners and staff of these businesses received the justice they deserved."
