Girl, 3, ‘stuffs stolen goods down pyjama bottoms’ after being ‘trained by mum’

A toddler has allegedly been filmed shoplifting into her pyjamas after being ‘trained’ to do so ‘by a parent’.

Store owner Shamly Sud was ‘gobsmacked’ when she watched CCTV which appears to show the girl – who she believes was around three years old – stuffing about five items down her pyjama bottoms at her shop in Glasgow, Scotland.

Meanwhile, she accused the girl’s parent and sibling of creating ‘a distraction’.

The incident was captured on CCTV and later reported to the police.

Shamly alleged it was ‘clear’ the girl had been ‘given instructions’ by her mum as she moved with her back to the camera.

The tot then allegedly put down some items of ‘high value American food products’ before returning to pick them up and take them to the till.

Shamly said: ‘We found some items missing and when we looked back on camera we were shocked to see it was a young child.

‘They had their back to the camera but you could see they taking items and putting them down. 

‘I am just gobsmacked that such a young child has been trained to steal by a parent. This was clearly calculated.’

Shamly, 55, owns 11 stores and has been working full-time in retail since 2011.

She said crime in the industry was the worst it had ever been.

She said all incidents are reported to the police but that not enough is being done.

‘This is not the child at fault here. Any child is not born a thief,’ she added.

‘They are taught to do that. It is purely on the mother.’

Shamly estimated the mother to be in her mid-20s.

She added that she has received backlash since sharing the footage, but thinks it is important for her to share the message.

She added: ‘Everyone needs to focus on just how serious this all is. This is by far the worst it has ever been and this is the most shocking thing I’ve ever witnessed. 

‘It makes you worried for the future. Not only what kind of message this sends out but how much worse things will get. There must be more of a deterrent.’

She said she had reported the incident to police but hadn’t heard anything back.

Mary Glasgow, Chief Executive of Children First, Scotland’s national children’s charity, said: ‘We must not forget that children are the victims. The criminals are the adults who prey on their vulnerability, using fear and control to keep children trapped and silent.

‘The scars of exploitation like this can be profound and lifelong, deeply affecting a child’s mental health, education and future. Child victims of exploitation need our compassion, understanding, protection and specialist support to recover – not blame.’

The Scottish Government is backing the Fearless campaign – a bid by Crimestoppers to encourage young people to report information around the exploitation of children and to help people get support.

Scottish Grocers Federation Chief Executive, Dr Pete Cheema OBE, said: ‘Reports of young children being used to shoplift are deeply concerning, raising alarming questions about the exploitation of vulnerable children by organized criminal groups.’

Metro has contacted Police Scotland for comment.