Two asylum seekers were caught stealing to order while waiting for their refugee claims to be processed by the Home Office.
Frans Epentrius, 29, and Tobias Iileka, 33, went on a spree targeting the John Lewis department store at the Bluewater shopping centre, near Stone, Kent.
The duo were busted on December 23 after eagle-eyed staff at the shopping mall spotted them behaving suspiciously and detained them.
Iileka was discovered with a pair of wire cutters, while Epentrius was caught attempting to stash a £550 Coach handbag in a brown paper bag he was carrying.
After discovering he had been clocked by staff, Epentrius went behind a column and put the bag on a different display.
‘They refused to wait for the police and they both ran off but were subsequently caught and taken to North Kent police station,’ prosecutor Lauren Kenny told Sevenoaks Magistrates’ Court.
Iileka acknowledged stealing additional things from John Lewis during a previous visit after being charged. He stated that he had committed the thefts to purchase clothing and food.
The court heard that Iileka had said that a friend had given him an order for things to steal, including designer perfumes, handbags and sunglasses.
Iileka, from Crawley, was charged with shoplifting items worth £1,356 from the Bluewater’s John Lewis outlet on December 4.
He was also charged with going prepared for robbery by having wire cutters during the foiled shoplifting endeavour on December 23.
Due to the unsuccessful ransacking on December 23, Epentrius, a father of two from St Leonards, East Sussex, was charged with attempted stealing.
The court heard Epentrius has two convictions for seven prior crimes but none of a comparable nature, while Iileka had one previous violation for failing to pay a fare on the railways.
Simon Patrick Pettican, representing Epentrius, said his client’s children were in Africa with the 29-year-old’s family as the thief awaits the results of his UK asylum request.
‘He is an asylum seeker at the moment and his claim is currently being processed. He has an excess alcohol (conviction) on file and he’s not working at the moment,’ he told the court, reported Kent Online.
‘He was getting cash from the Salvation Army but that has stopped and the friend he lives with is supporting him now.
‘It was a shot at getting some money (the thieving) and he has £419 outstanding on his fine’s account and that was for train evasion (not paying for the fare).’
District Judge Nadeem Holland placed Epentrius on a 12-month community order, with a requirement to complete 60 hours of unpaid work.
Why on earth would we want people like this in our country? If someone violates the law while waiting for an immigration decision it should be an instant decline and straight back on the plane home. It shouldn’t be our problem!
Only once they arrive and are welcomed on our shores will they stay and become a part of our culture. This is where the concept of human rights comes in.
However, they have already demonstrated their beliefs and the reason they are here. Our foolish administration will eventually figure out a method to get rid of them, but it won’t be for some time, and by then it will be too late—they are here to stay!
Naturally, a court will always find a justification for their actions, but keep an eye out since these individuals will go on to conduct more serious crimes in the future. Their asylum application should have been automatically denied.
After committing a criminal violation, that should have been the end of any claim they have to stay in the UK, but now they will likely be offered a home to live in a location of their choosing, and guess what, the taxpayers will have to pay for that!
THE MONTHLY MOSQUITO 