Arturs Strauts: Thieving sailor sentenced over stolen Currys goods

The £15,000 worth of iPads, laptops and mobile phones belonged to high street retailer Currys (stock image)

A sailor who stole £15,000 worth of electrical goods on a Belfast bound ship claimed he found them sitting on the deck, a court has heard.

Arturs Strauts, 32, got a four-month suspended sentence for the theft of iPads, laptops and phones.

The investigation followed suspicious activity on the vessel in October.

The captain questioned Strauts, a Latvian national of no fixed abode, but he could not provide a proper explanation.

When a search of his cabin was ordered, staff discovered the electrical goods with a total value of £15,000.

"The defendant made full admissions but said he found them on one of the decks," a prosecution lawyer said.

Checks established the items were being shipped over to Belfast on a lorry for the retailer Currys.

'Lonely' sailor

The defence solicitor told Belfast Magistrates' Court the case was related to separate theft investigations in other jurisdictions.

"It looks like (Strauts) is a very small part of a wider problem on that particular boat," he contended.

He added his client spent five weeks in custody before getting bail.

"As a sailor he's used to being lonely, but he has struggled being away from his wife and children," the lawyer added.

District Judge Anne Marshall declared it was a "significant" theft which clearly crossed the threshold for imposing a custodial sentence.

But based on the time Strauts has already spent behind bars and his previous good character, she suspended the four-month term for a period of two years.