Former London Drugs employee Carlos Cenon Santos was sentenced to two years in prison last month for stealing as much as $2 million worth of stock from the retailer — reports the CBC.
Santos regularly stole from his employer over the course of five years, swiping one high-end electronics item at a time and selling his ill-gotten goods on Craigslist. London Drugs is an authorized reseller of Apple products, along with several wireless telecom services. Even after listing the stolen goods at a discount, he was able to pocket an estimated $750,000 to $1 million.
“The quantum of the theft is clearly staggering,” B.C. provincial court Judge Nancy Phillips said as she sentenced the 34-year-old. “It was clearly deliberate, intentional and planned. And Mr. Santos did not stop until he was caught. Otherwise, it continued unabated and undetected.”
London Drugs hired Santos back in October 2016 as a “merchandise handler.” He worked his way up to handling “high-value items, including electronic items,” and he then used his access to start stealing goods.
“He would remove items such as laptops from their packaging, secret them under his shirt, go to his locker area in the employee room and then secret the item in a pack. He would leave at the end of the shift with the item in his pack,” said Judge Phillips.
When confronted with a lengthy investigation conducted by London Drugs and the court charges, Santos pleaded guilty to theft over $5,000. He confessed that he started stealing from London Drugs as “an act of vengeance” when he was unhappy with the company as an employer during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Santos’ illicit activities came to light when a superior noticed him trying to conceal a laptop. The company then reviewed CCTV footage and started monitoring the employee.
The judge said Santos took advantage “of an awareness he had that employee bags were not searched when an employee left the premise at the end of or during their shift. Santos is believed to have stolen around 245 separate items over the course of five years — pilfering 52 items alone during the time he was under surveillance.”
Earlier this year, London Drugs was forced to temporarily shut down stores following a cyberattack. Weeks later, the retailer was also the target of a $25 million ransom demand for stolen employee data.
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