A pair of warehouse workers were motivated by “desperation, not greed” when they stole around £10,000 worth of goods, a court has heard.

Richard Capitao and Cleiton Teixiera, both 22, were working at the Amazon warehouse at Logistics North in Bolton when they began stealing in January this year.

Bolton Crown Court heard how the pair had been caught on CCTV stealing iPhone and other expensive electronic goods while on shift.

Prosecutor Megan Horner said: “The defendants were seen on the CCTV to pull out Apple products from the pod storage unit.”

She added: “They were seen to keep their hands inside the pod for an extended period of time, hiding the stolen units up their sleeves.”

The Bolton News: The case was heard at Bolton Crown CourtThe case was heard at Bolton Crown Court (Image: Newsquest)

Ms Horner told the court how as well as catching the pair in the act, an investigation found several empty boxes matching up to the goods they had stolen.

Together, they stole a total of around £10,000 between January 6 and 13 this year before both were arrested at the warehouse on January 19.

They were taken to Bolton Police Station for questioning where Capitao, of Sydenham Street, Oldham, admitted to the thefts and named Teixiera as his co-conspirator.

Capitao claimed that his motivation had been simply to pay his bills with his contract with the company soon set to end.

Teixiera, of Duchy Street, Salford, also admitted to his part in the thefts and named Capitao as his co-conspirator.

Brought before the magistrates’ court both men, who have no previous convictions, pleaded guilty to theft by employee.

Anna Bond, defending, argued that they deserved credit for their guilty pleas and told the court that both were now working at other jobs.

She said: “This is wholly out of character for them, they have expressed genuine and sincere remorse to probation.”

She added: “This was a very short period of offending, motivated by desperation, not greed.”

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But the Honorary Recorder for Bolton Judge Martin Walsh reminded the duo, as they sat in the dock, of the trust they had breached.

He said: “You were arrested, and you admitted at a very early stage to your guilt.”

He added: “The aggravating factor here is the degree of trust placed in you, working in a warehouse with high value goods.”

Judge Walsh sentenced both men to 18 weeks in prison, suspended for 18 months and ordered them both to complete 140 hours of unpaid work.