Double arrest secured within minutes of Mansfield protein powder theft

Two suspected protein powder thieves were arrested within minutes of Mansfield officers receiving the call.

The town centre team’s rapid response ensured more than £900 worth of workout supplement stock was recovered.

This discovery came just a couple of minutes after officers heard that shoplifters had targeted Boots, in St Peter’s Retail Park.

After emptying two shelves worth of protein powder into a bag, a suspect then brazenly lifted it over the alarm system on their way out.

This theft, at 3.40pm on Wednesday (5 June), came less than 24 hours after the same store was similarly targeted by two shoplifters.

Large quantities of protein supplements were again taken from the shelves by the duo, who then walked out without paying, at 5.45pm on Tuesday.

After hearing about Wednesday’s theft over the radio, Mansfield officers drove to the location and quickly spotted two suspects matching the thieves’ descriptions.

Following a short foot pursuit, the neighbourhood team caught up with the suspects and detained them nearby.

At that point, they also spotted and seized two shopping bags full of protein powder tubs.  

Two men, aged 35 and 36, were subsequently arrested on suspicion of theft.

PC Kevin Marshall, of Nottinghamshire Police, said: “Targeting shoplifters is one of our policing priorities in Mansfield, so it was pleasing to be able to locate and detain two suspects within minutes of us hearing about this incident.

“Our neighbourhood policing team has a good relationship with our local stores and regularly works with them to try and identify and stop those who offend in our communities.

“This incident provided a great example of this, with security staff contacting us over the radio about an ongoing theft, which allowed us to respond and get to the scene as quickly as we did.

“Shop thefts such as this can have a really detrimental impact on local communities and affect people’s livelihoods, so we will continue to focus on trying to stop those who offend in this way going forward.”