Four charged in connection with Ashford sports shop fraud

A total of 20 charges have been secured against four suspects in connection to the theft of high-value trainers from Ashford.

Kent Police received a report that people had been fraudulently swapping high-value trainers into boxes for cheaper footwear and paying for them through the self-service tills. It was reported that the fraud had occurred at a store in Ashford’s designer outlet on three different occasions, on 3, 24 and 31 August 2024.

As part of an investigation by local Ashford officers, over 400 boxes of shoes were seized following a search at a property in Essex. Out of those seized, 45 boxes of trainers were identified as originating from the Ashford business.

Charged

On Monday 2 September charges of theft and fraud were authorised against:

Catalina Petre, 20, of Holmes Street, Derby.
Camelia Panescu, 53, of Broadway, Grays (Essex).
Francisc Dumitru, 28, of Holmes Street, Derby.
Viorel Panescu, 28, of Broadway, Grays (Essex).

They were all remanded to appear at Folkestone Magistrates’ Court on Monday 2 September.