Five arrested and up to £10,000 worth of goods seized in connection with spate of shoplifting in Swindon

• Police were called to an initial report of shoplifting in Sainsbury's in Swindon last night.

• When they located the vehicle linked to the incident, they found up to £10,000 worth of goods.

• Five people have been arrested and are currently in police custody.

Five people have been arrested and up to £10,000 worth of goods seized after police responded to a spate of shoplifting incidents in Swindon.

At around 7.50pm last night (27/04) we were called to Sainsbury’s in Bridgemead due to the fact that a large amount of alcohol had been stolen.

We were quickly able to identify a vehicle allegedly involved in the incident, and officers out on patrol in the town quickly located it in the car park of the Tesco Extra petrol station in Ocotal Way.

The vehicle failed to stop for police, so a tactical stop was carried out by specialist officers.

Four females, aged 14, 27, 32 and 49, and one male, aged 13, have been arrested in connection with a number of incidents of shoplifting and are currently in police custody. They are all from the London area.

The car, a black Ford Focus, was searched and a large amount of goods have been seized. It has a potential value of between £5,000 and £10,000.

Inspector Colin Conway, from Swindon Police, said: “This was a fantastic response by local police, who were able to swiftly identify and locate the vehicle linked to this shoplifting report.

“Not only have five people been arrested, but we’ve been able to seize a large amount of what is believed to be stolen goods, likely to be linked to shoplifting at a number of different shops in the town.

“The suspects are currently in custody and our investigation is now ongoing.”