Tobacco products worth £8,000 stolen from Swindon cash and carry

Tobacco products worth £8,000 were stolen from Batleys, also known as Bestway, Cash and Carry in Swindon.

According to local reports, the suspects, described as two males and believed to be lorry drivers, reportedly entered the wholesalers’ premises on Friday (29) at 5.35 am and made off with the products at 5.46am.

CCTV images have been released of the two people that Wiltshire Police are looking for.

One of the persons can be described as wearing a large dark jacket with a hood and a covered face. He was seen carrying at least two large bags. The second is partially covered in the image but seems to be wearing a green hat, has a mask covering the lower half of their face and is wearing what appears to be a jacket with a dark blue top half.

A spokesperson for Wiltshire Police said, “We are looking for any witnesses who may have seen the two males.”

The incident follows a warning from a wholesalers body cautioning against theft and robbery incidents in the premises of wholesale depots.

“From our monitoring of these incidents, it’s clear that the vast majority of thefts came about because the retailer gave the criminals an opportunity that could easily have been avoided,” FWD’s David Visick said at the time. “We’ve heard stories of a cash and carry customer leaving £5,000 in cash in plain view on the front seat of their van, and of someone leaving a trolley load of cigarettes and alcohol unattended beside their vehicle while they went back inside for another.”

“FWD has been working with the Metropolitan Police and the National Business Crime Centre to raise awareness of the potential for criminal activity on cash and carry car parks. These posters in the car parks and leaflets distributed at the reception desk are a reminder to customers to take some simple precautions to protect themselves and their purchases,” Visick added.