Thief's bag led to his arrest (From Harrow Times)

Shoplifter brought to book after foil-lined bag set off metal detector

11:20am Wednesday 6th March 2013 in News By Jaber Mohamed

A policeman's son arrested after officers chased him through the streets of Harrow last week was wanted for the theft of a £4,500 designer coat.

Daniel Blanariu fled from police last Wednesday after a foil-lined bag intended to shield stolen items from security alarms triggered a metal detector at Harrow-on-the-Hill station.

When officers caught him they discovered he was wanted for failing to answer bail over an attempted theft.

Blanariu, 21, of Palmerston Road, admitted two counts of going equipped to steal, one of attempted theft, one of possession of cannabis and another of failing to appear in court.

He was sentenced to 80 hours of unpaid community service and ordered to pay £150 in costs at Hendon Magistrates Court yesterday.

The court heard how a security guard caught Blanariu as he tried to walk out of designer clothing store Angelo Galasso with a £4,480 coat in a homemade foil-lined bag on December 21 last year.

Blanariu, the son of a police officer, was ordered to appear at Hammersmith Magistrates Court on February 4 but failed to do so.

His luck ran out when his foil-lined bag - intended for hiding stolen items and drugs - set off a ‘knife arch’ police had set up as part of Operation Big Wing, a London-wide crackdown on minor crime.

In mitigation, Jyothi Somavarapu said Blanariu, the son of a police officer, was ashamed of his actions, which he took because he had could not afford to pay his rent, adding that the 21-year-old was due to start a job as a builder next week.

She said: “He was desperate and resorted to stealing because he was influenced by people he was living with.”