A former criminology lecturer turned life coach, Pauline Marta Al Said, has been banned from all Sainsbury’s stores in England and Wales for 18 months after stealing nearly £12,000 worth of goods, a court has heard. The 35-year-old Polish national was sentenced at Southampton Crown Court on Friday after admitting to a series of thefts carried out between January and February 2024, primarily at Sainsbury’s in Hedge End. Bournemouth Echo reported that Al Said targeted mainly premium alcohol, including vodka, gin, prosecco, and wine, walking out of stores undetected as security only noticed losses when shelves were left with large gaps.
The court was told that Al Said used supermarket trolleys to conceal dozens of bottles of alcohol beneath items such as clothing and toilet rolls before leaving without paying. She had previously dubbed herself “the UK’s poshest thief” after stealing high-end items, including luxury Le Creuset cookware, from Waitrose and Marks & Spencer. Sentencing her, Judge Gary Lucie said the offences involved “goods to order, basically for drugs,” describing the scale and persistence of the thefts as serious.