Woman, 38, who travelled from Spain to steal £20,000 of handbags from Harrods in five separate raids is jailed
A woman who travelled from Spain to steal £20,000 worth of handbags from Harrods in five separate raids has been jailed.
Margarita Del Carmen Valdes Torres, 38, visited the world famous department store in London on five separate occasions between October and May to steal bags made by luxury brands Hermes, Valentino, Chanel, YSL and Gucci.
On October 25, the Spaniard stole a Hermes bag worth £2,120 after arriving in the UK as a tourist. Three days later, she was spotted on CCTV evading the store's security staff and running off with a £2,400 Valentino bag.
After returning home with the two bags, the mother-of-five re-visited Harrods on March 14 to grab a £5,220 Chanel bag, before helping herself to a £2,880 YSL bag two days later.
Valdes Torres was eventually spotted on May 10 attempting to steal a Gucci bag and sunglasses worth a total of £6,735.
She was subsequently chased down Brompton Road, Knightsbridge, towards the V&A museum by a security guard and arrested. When police officers searched her handbag, they found an electronic de-tagger and wire cutters.
Margarita Del Carmen Valdes Torres (pictured) visited the Harrods department store in London on five separate occasions between October and May to steal bags
Appearing at the Old Bailey on Monday, Valdes Torres admitted five counts of theft and one count of going equipped for theft. The total value of the theft was £19,355.
Lyall Thompson, defending, said: 'This defendant has expressed remorse for what she has done.
'She understands its seriousness. I detected an element of relief that she was caught when she was. She said it could have gotten even worse if she had not been caught.'
'She made a full admission to the security guard when she was stopped and entered guilty pleas at the earliest possible opportunity.'
Sentencing the thief, Judge Jeremy Brier said: 'The sentencing must reflect the fact that the total value of the theft was almost £20,000 and there were five separate occasions of theft.
'It is aggravated by the going equipped count.
'In terms of mitigating factors I take into account your good character prior to this offence and the fact that you made full admissions and have shown remorse for your offending and have used your time in custody productively.'
Torres was jailed for 28 weeks. She will serve half her sentence in custody.
