John Lewis Warehouseman Flogged Nicked Laptops On Ebay

A John Lewis warehouseman who stole ten laptops over five months – selling them for quick profit on eBay after his family’s saving were wiped-out in a Dubai property scam – has dodged jail with a suspended sentence.

Father-of-three Rehmatullah Kadri, 38, of Florence House, Florence Road, Kingston-upon-Thames was finally caught on CCTV hiding two computers in a food processor box.

“What you did was not just dishonest, but a gross breach of trust to your employers and co-employees,” Judge Nicholas Price QC told Kadri at Kingston-upon-Thames Crown Court.

“John Lewis is a partnership. Profits are shared amongst staff so you robbed not just your employer, but the employees and it was pre-meditated and lasted a long time.”

Indian-born Kadri, who has a first-class honours degree from his home country, pleaded guilty to stealing the laptops from the Kingston-upon-Thames department store between November 1, last year and April 8 and converting criminal property.

The court heard an internal email on August 5, last year alerted management to the strong suspicion the defendant was stealing laptops by hiding them inside other boxes.

He was eventually caught when purchasing a food processor and secretly hiding two laptops, worth £3,600, within the box in the warehouse collection area.

When police searched his home they found £6,710 cash stashed in a safe, which first-time offender Kadri admitted was the profit of eBay sales from eight previous laptops he stole.

The court was told the theft spree began when the defendant’s family lost £24,000 in a Dubai property fraud, despite efforts by the Met police and the local MP to recoup the money.

Kadri wrote a letter to his ex-bosses saying: “I am not sure what led me to do this. The worst thing was betraying my colleagues. John Lewis was like a second home to me.”

Judge Price sentenced the defendant to 30 weeks imprisonment, suspended for 18 months, and ordered him to perform 120 hours community service work.

A £6,710 compensation order to John Lewis was also made.

“You are a highly qualified and highly intelligent man that has brought shame on yourself and your family,” Judge Price told Kadri. “You have put your whole family at risk.”