Sisters Ordered to Repay £220,000 After Gatwick Duty-Free Shoplifting Spree
Two sisters from West Sussex who systematically plundered high-value perfume and makeup from duty-free shops at Gatwick Airport have been hit with a confiscation order totalling £220,000. Laura Epitropou, 45, and Georgina Epitropou, 42, both from Crawley, were each sentenced to two and a half years in prison in September 2024 for their coordinated theft operation.
Organised Theft and Online Sales
The pair stole items worth up to £80,000 from airport retailers, with the majority of the stolen goods being sold online at around half their retail price. Bank records revealed that over a ten-month period leading up to September 2022, the sisters made sales totalling £40,000 through online marketplaces and direct sales to specific retailers.
Messages exchanged between the sisters showed meticulous planning, including one instance where they stole 73 items worth nearly £8,000 in a single heist. Their criminal enterprise involved Laura Epitropou taking 21 flights from London Gatwick, primarily to Edinburgh, during the shoplifting spree, with her sister joining on later journeys.
Funding Lavish Lifestyles
Despite claiming financial hardship when arrested, evidence presented in court demonstrated that both women were living well beyond their means, using proceeds from the thefts to fund extravagant lifestyles. This included significant expenditure on cosmetic surgery procedures.
Georgina Epitropou had previously spoken publicly about spending tens of thousands of pounds on multiple cosmetic enhancements, including breast augmentations, liposuction, a Brazilian butt lift, facial filler treatments, and approximately £15,000 on Botox injections alone. In 2022, she revealed she had spent £43,400 transforming her body to achieve what she described as an "ultra confident" appearance as she approached forty.
Court Proceedings and Confiscation Orders
Both sisters previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy to steal, with Laura Epitropou additionally admitting a charge of acquiring criminal property. Appearing at Lewes Crown Court, they were handed a confiscation order under the Proceeds of Crime Act.
Laura Epitropou was given one month to repay £182,090.99, while Georgina Epitropou has three months to repay £37,487.85. Failure to comply could result in additional prison sentences.
Daniel Cummins from the Crown Prosecution Service stated: 'Despite claiming that they were in debt when they were arrested, it was clear that both sisters were living beyond their means and using these thefts to fund their lavish lifestyles, which included cosmetic surgery. They were stealing to order, putting significant planning into these thefts.'
Arrest and Investigation
The sisters were apprehended while boarding a flight to Belfast from Gatwick Airport, with stolen items worth almost £2,000 discovered in their luggage. The investigation revealed that even after Laura was arrested by Police Scotland with stolen goods in her possession, the pair continued their operation, merely adjusting the quantity of items they targeted.
The prosecution emphasised that the women's criminal activities were not impulsive acts but carefully calculated operations designed to generate substantial illegal income. Their case serves as a stark reminder of the serious consequences facing those who attempt to profit from organised retail crime.
