Business Action Day results in five arrests and 20 charges

Dear resident,

On Friday, 14 November, your Runnymede Safer Neighbourhood Team hosted a Business Action Day as part of our efforts to tackle retail crime, anti-social behaviour and other offences affecting businesses in our community.

Five men have been arrested and charged with a total of 20 offences for theft and assault across the borough.

Three men were charged in relation to thefts from Waitrose in Addlestone on 10 November:

Florin Matei, 25 (08/10/2000) of East Ham, was charged with shoplifting, driving without insurance, and driving otherwise than in accordance with a licence.

Cristian-Florin Radulescu, 24, (23/03/2001), of Wembley, was charged with shoplifting.

Ionut-Relu Matei, 19, (15/03/2006) of Wembley, was charged with shoplifting.

They all pleaded guilty and have been ordered to pay fines, costs, and surcharges in relation to the shoplifting. Ionut-Relu Matei and Florin Matei have also been ordered to complete 160 hours of unpaid work each, and Cristian-Florin Radulescu to complete 180 hours, in line with a community order.

Florin Matei will also attend Staines Magistrates Court in 2026 for driving offences.

A man was charged in relation to 11 shoplifting offences in Egham over the past few months:

Ali Naddi, 30, (14/12/1994), of no fixed address, was charged with 11 counts of shoplifting. He appeared at Uxbridge Magistrates Court on Saturday, 15 November and was remanded ahead of a further court appearance on Monday, 24 November.

And a man was charged following an incident at the Co-Op in New Haw in October:

Ashley Watts, 35, (19/11/1990) was charged with three counts of shoplifting and common assault by beating. He pleaded guilty at court on Saturday, 15 November, and was released on bail ahead of sentencing at Guildford Magistrates Court on Tuesday, 30 December.

Inspector Ian Nash, Borough Commander for Runnymede, said: “Business Action Days are a valuable opportunity to focus attention on the challenges businesses face every day.

“The results we’ve seen show the real impact of bringing together police, local authorities and the business community to create safer places to work and shop.

“Whilst this day of action was very important, our efforts are not restricted to one day, and the work we do to protect Surrey residents, retailers and workers continues all year round.”