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 both defendants were sentenced.
Jason Kamal, 48, and Ashley Hillsley, 21, wore high-visibility tops as they raided the store in Long Row in the early hours of August 14.
They were arrested within minutes of police receiving a call about the burglary.
Kamal, of no fixed address, was also linked to a previous burglary at a mobile store in Arnold, where he left a vape with his DNA “all over it”, Nottinghamshire Police said.
Stolen items from Ann Summers (Nottinghamshire Police/PA)
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At Nottingham Crown Court on Thursday, Kamal was handed a three-year prison sentence for both burglaries and Hillsley, of Big Barn Lane in Mansfield, received a community order for the Ann Summers burglary.
“These are not mastermind criminals, quite the opposite, who had no chance whatsoever of getting away with this crime,” Chief Inspector Kylie Davies, of Nottinghamshire Police, said.
“All the evidence pointed to them where they had no other option than plead guilty to the offence at court.”
Officers received a report that a burglary was in progress at Ann Summers in Long Row at 4.32am on August 14.
The offenders were described as having smashed a window to gain entry, Nottinghamshire Police said.
Within three minutes of the call coming in, officers arrived and arrested the two men as they tried to run away.
Police found £12,059 worth of Ann Summers products in the boot of Hillsley’s vehicle, including lingerie and sex toys.
Kamal initially denied entering the Ann Summers store – but his face was visible on CCTV.
Hillsley claimed he was “bullied” into the burglary, and that his role was to be on lookout and assist.
He said he was told he would receive a large sum of money and would no longer be “a nobody”, according to the force.
After the Ann Summers raid, Kamal was also arrested on suspicion of another burglary at Professional Mobile in Front Street in Arnold on July 28.
As well as having left a vape at the scene, Kamal was also found to be using a stolen phone from the Arnold store.
During this burglary, Kamal had stolen £13,000 worth of electronic devices.
On the Ann Summers burglary, Ms Davies said: “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,” she added.
“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.”