Three Romanian men allegedly targeted supermarkets across greater Belfast in a bid to steal up to £4,000 worth of alcohol, the High Court has heard.
One of the accused claimed that dozens of bottles of spirits loaded into trolleys during last month’s suspected crime spree were for personal consumption, a judge was told.
Alin Rezes (28), Adi Calin (32) and Silviu Moraru (21) are jointly charged with counts of theft, attempted theft, handling stolen goods and going equipped for theft.
The three accused, who all live in the Republic, were refused bail.
They were arrested in connection with a series of alleged shoplifting incidents on June 20.
Prosecutors claimed the trio stole 30 bottles of spirits valued at £700 from a Tesco store in Knocknagoney, east Belfast.
A short time later they allegedly took a further £560 worth of alcohol from an Asda outlet in Dundonald and left in a BMW car.
Within hours the defendants tried to carry out similar raids on other branches of Tesco and Asda in Newtownbreda and Ballyclare, it was claimed.
Trolleys filled with thousands of pounds worth of drink were abandoned after the suspects were challenged by security staff.
Calin, from Dunvile Meadow in Navan, Co Meath, was arrested along with Rezes and Moraru, both of no fixed abode in the Dublin area, after police stopped a BMW in Antrim.
A prosecution barrister said large amounts of alcohol and five sets of wire cutters were found in the car.
“One of the applicants alleged the stolen goods were for personal use as the prices in Northern Ireland are cheaper than in the Republic,” she told the court.
Opposing bail, counsel added: “The quantity of goods goes far beyond what a reasonable person would consider for personal use.”
Michael Boyd, defending, indicated that partial admissions were made by some of his three clients.
“They work in construction… borrowed a car and came up to the north for a day away from Navan,” he told the court.
Mr Boyd added: “I appreciate that the value (of the stolen goods) is not insignificant.”
Bail was denied due to concerns the three men could either re-offend or fail to turn up for trial.
Mr Justice McFarland observed: “There’s a very strong prima facie case against them… that they were on a spree, visiting various supermarkets in the Belfast area.
“On my rough calculations the value of the goods, both allegedly stolen and attempted to be stolen, comes to £4,000.”