Indian-Origin woman jailed for £500k shoplifting spree in UK

An Indian-origin shoplifter in the UK was sentenced to jail time on July 30 for committing frauds on an enormous scale with high-end brands, firms, and a government institution, totalling up to more than £500,000 (~₹5 crores).

54-year-old Narinder Kaur alias Nina Tiara, a resident of the UK’s Wiltshire, reportedly stole goods from numerous locations, including Oxford, Solihull, Worcester, Shrewsbury, Bath, Cardiff, and Reading, among others.

Spanning around four years from 2015 to 2019, her devised modus operandi reportedly started with a theft from a high street shop, which followed her claiming refunds over those items and availing a receipt against them. Alongside. Kaur also bought a lower-priced item from the same outlet, which would reportedly provide her receipts for both those items and hefty amounts dubiously.

As per reports, the judge presiding over her case deemed her a “thoroughly dishonest individual.”

Kaur is reportedly accused of conducting more than 1,000 such thefts, and police personnel describe her operations as “on an industrial scale.” They reportedly claimed that this was her “full-time job, six days a week—eight or nine hours a day.”

High-end brands targeted by her reportedly included TK Maxx, M&S, John Lewis, and House of Fraser, among others.

One of her deceitful attempts amounting to £7,400 (₹7.92 lakh) was also reported to have been directed towards the Wiltshire council, where she made excess payments through stolen credit cards and after that claimed a refund over “accidentally adding too many zeroes.”

Kaur was reportedly nabbed in 2020 while returning an item in Wiltshire’s Swindon after a thorough investigation was launched against her in the same year for a theft committed in 2016.

She reportedly continued committing her frauds after her being released on bail and was eventually nabbed again from Swindon in 2021.

Police recovered more than £150,000 (₹1.60 crore) in cash from her house, along with goods stolen by her that were yet to be returned, say reports.

Reports state that Kaur was found guilty of her crimes in 2023 and was now sentenced to 10 years in prison.