A PROLIFIC shoplifter has been jailed for 58 weeks after admitting a string of thefts, including one on Christmas Day.
Shellie Rustami, 31, stole almost £1,000 of goods from a variety of shops in the town despite being banned from entering some of them.
Among the things she stole were £30 of flower seeds from Morrisons and £300 of Easter eggs from B&M. On Christmas Day last year, she stole £79 of meat, laundry detergent and chocolate from the BP service station on the A13 at Orsett Cock.
Rustami, of New Road, Grays, appeared in court the day after she was arrested and admitted stealing on 11 occasions from B&M, a BP service station, the Co-op, Farmfoods, Morrisons and Tesco between November 20 and March 13.
On the day of her arrest, she had stolen twice from Tesco in Crammavill Street and once from the Co-op in Lodge Lane.
Sergeant Priest, of Grays Community Policing Team, says: “Rustami is a prolific shoplifter whose crimes have caught up with her thanks to the sharp eyes of an off-duty police officer. They called me and I was able to direct officers to where she was located so they could arrest her.
“We take all reports of shoplifting seriously and urge retailers to report them to us. This way we can spot trends and patterns and direct our operational policing activity accordingly.
“Providing investigating officers with good-quality CCTV footage and witness statements help them to build strong cases at court, to which offenders often have no choice but to admit their crimes as Rustami did in this case.”
Southend magistrates jailed Rustami last Friday for a total of 48 weeks for the 11 shop thefts, one attempted theft and seven breaches of a criminal behaviour order imposed on 1 January 2025, which forbade her from entering Grays town centre, all of which she admitted.
Her offending also activated a previous suspended jail term of 10 weeks, making a total of 58 weeks in jail. She was also ordered to pay a £187 victim surcharge.
Rustami is not allowed to enter the town centre unless for a pre-arranged appointment with police, probation or a healthcare professional, proof of which must be carried.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel
You must verify your phone number before you can comment.
Please enter your phone number below, and a verification code will be sent to you by text message.
Please enter the six-digit verification code sent to you by SMS.
Your verification code has been sent a second time to the mobile phone number you provided.
Your verification code has been sent a third time to the mobile phone number you provided.
You have requested your verification code too many times. Please try again later.
Didn’t receive a code? Send it againThe code you entered has not been recognised.
Please try again
You have failed to enter a correct code after three attempts.
Please try again later.
Your phone number has been verified.
Your phone number has been stored with your account details. We will never use it for anything other than verifying that you are the legitimate owner of this account.