A family pharmacy in Crouch End says a return perfume thief who always goes for designer, vintage fragrances has stolen bottles from its Park Road store worth £1,000.
Amy Pharmacy, which has been open for more than 30 years, says a man has repeatedly stolen perfumes such as Joop and Givenchy, and on one occasion when “caught in the act” he threw back a bottle of Beyonce Heat as “it wasn’t that expensive”.
On June 13 around 1pm, CCTV shows a man leaving with a box in his left hand which the pharmacy says is a “pure oil perfume” from the Joop All About Eve range, worth £200.
When staff try to stop him he hits the pharmacy’s technician Erika Urban four times, who retaliated by “giving him” two shots with the pricing gun.
Erika believes the man had “more stolen items in his bag”.
She told the Ham&High: “I suddenly heard my boss shouting ‘oi’, and I knew this is not something she would shout out of joy.
“I thought something nasty was happening.
“I saw the man forcing a glass cabinet open from the gap between the doors.
“I saw his face, he was really determined and my boss was trying to reach out and grab him.
“I thought she is over 60, I can’t let that happen.”
When the alleged thief tried to “run off”, Erika “grabbed him by the collar”.
Erika said after her nail broke and she started bleeding, she was forced to let go. She was upset passers-by on the street didn’t help out.
Erika continued: “I can see my boss now is really anxious [after the latest incident].
“They have been working at the pharmacy for 32 years and this man is coming here and stealing from them.
“It’s really, really unfair because they are really, really lovely people and they work very hard for the community.
“We were open through the pandemic as well and it is absolutely disgusting what he is doing to them and I’m fed up.”
The pharmacy says there have been incidents with the alleged thief on May 16, June 9 and June 13.
Crouch End Police confirmed they are investigating the incident on June 13. No arrests have been made.
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