A THIEF stole more than £16,000 worth of stock from an e-commerce company.

And his deception was noticed by a fellow worker who cleverly spotted his crimes.

Lukasz Kowalczyk, 40, from Haverhill Grove, Bolton, was a night manager at The Hut Group, in Burtonwood, near Warrington.

Kowalczyk’s activity was first noticed by a security employee, Liverpool Crown Court heard.

Sometimes company items cannot be located and high-risk products are kept securely.

Before this, items can be placed in an area of the warehouse not covered by the security system. They can be moved without being located or knowing who moved them.

This employee noticed several items of cycling equipment missing. He reviewed footage and saw Kowalczyk, an employee of five years, behaving suspiciously.

The employee saw the defendant taking boxes and putting them by his desk, going away and returning with a label for the box before manually loading it onto a HGV.

Four times in July 2020, Kowalczyk placed orders for boxes of oats on his personal account and changed the label to steal the items.

The employee looked for sellers on eBay and found an account named ‘Kowal-Bolton’, featuring Hut cycling products, like derailleur sets.

Kowalczyk was arrested in August 2020 at his home where officers found several stolen items including a water bottle, performance tape and sprockets worth more than £300. Kowalczyk had sold 118 items on his eBay page, originally valued at £16,408.

Defending Kowalczyk, Olivia Beesley, said her client had used profits from selling cycling equipment to pay off debts.

Ms Beesley said in 2019, he was involved in a road traffic accident as a cyclist where he went through a car window and to support his family of four, he had to borrow money from family and friends. He had also been hit hard financially by the pandemic.

Her client had pleaded guilty to the thefts and he has no other offences on his record at 40, she added.

Ms Beesley said Kowalczyk understands the damage he had caused to the business, that it was out of character for him and that his actions weighed heavily on him.

Ms Beesley said: “This is clearly a very sad case not only for the company but for him too.”

Judge Garrett Byrne said: “It was a position of considerable trust and you betrayed them."

Kowalczyk was given a nine-month suspended jail term with 20 days of rehab activities and 60 hours of unpaid work. He must also pay £10,000 compensation at a rate of £200 per month from March 1.