Shoplifting - you probably figure that if you don't do it, then it doesn't affect you. Well it does; every year tens of thousands of dollars in inventory are shoplifted from stores across Belize, which makes business more expensive and drives prices up. Well today A&R Store on the Northern Highway took a stab at the growing trend of shoplifting when staff caught a lifter red-handed...with blue pens. Sure, it was only 4 boxes of $3 boxes of pens but 4 police mobiles and two TV stations responded. Tomasina Urbina told us that the young man who was caught had a long history with the store.
Tomasina Urbina,
"This morning what was I doing, I was at the office and then they call me and they tell me its emergency. So I came out and see what it was and then this guy was there and two of my workers were with him and they said that he had stolen things and he had them in his pockets. So we asked him to come into that room there and we caught him and we found the pens with him. He had three packs of pen and he had one holding which he had left out when he saw that we were on to him."
Jules Vasquez,
Now as I understand it he is somebody who comes to the store.
Tomasina Urbina,
"He did that yesterday according to Carlos. He came in yesterday, he picked up the pen, and he was busy and so by the time he looked back the guy was out already. So the guy went out with the pen because when we checked the inventory the pen was gone."
Jules Vasquez,
So he comes here on a regular basis?
Tomasina Urbina,
"I heard he was here Saturday too and because it was busy we unable to really see what he was doing. But he seems to be a regular person who visits the shop and we haven't caught him until now so it looks like he is professional at what he is doing."
Jules Vasquez,
Do you all lose a lot in general to shoplifting?
Tomasina Urbina,
"You can't imagine."
Up to newstime, the young man, who went to A&R in a car was still detained pending charges.
