Highland police stop and search mission leads to Dingwall arrest of 28 year old after shoplifting spree through Kirkcaldy, Inverness, Elgin, St Andrews and Broughty Ferry

A ‘stop and search’ from Highland road police has led to the detection of a shoplifting spree that spread across half of Scotland.

At around 8pm on Thursday, September, 18 road policing officers in Dingwall were on patrol on the A862 when they signalled a vehicle to stop near the Ardullie roundabout.

A search of the vehicle found numerous chemist related items which were believed to have been stolen.

Enquiries were carried out and as a result a 28-year-old man was arrested in connection with shoplifting offences committed in Kirkcaldy, Inverness, Elgin, St Andrews and Broughty Ferry on February 22 and 23.

The man has been charged and was expected to appear at Inverness Sheriff Court today (Friday, September 19).

Sergeant Chris Donaldson, Highland and Islands Road Policing Unit, said: “Officers on patrol carried out routine checks of this vehicle which led to the subsequent stop and search.

“We have officers out and about on roads each day helping police investigations that may not always be road traffic related.”

Inspector Emma Wright from the Retail Crime Taskforce said: “Although the thefts happened in February, officers were quickly able to link shoplifting crimes and seize potentially stolen goods.

“This is due to work by the taskforce’s intelligence function, that identifies linked retail offences and those who are allegedly committing organised retail crime across Scotland.

“We continue to work with officers across Scotland, from all departments and teams within the organisation, to target those who commit retail crime offences.”