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Cruise guests avoid prison after drunken jewellery theft
Two cruise passengers have escaped a prison sentence after a ‘foolish’ alcohol fueled incident aboard a MSC Cruise ship.
Gary Cooper, 30, and Benjamin Greenwood, 33 were given 15 months suspended sentences plus community service for stealing £76,000 of jewellery from Effy Jewellery store onboard MSC Virtuosa.
The store was unattended as the ship had not departed from Southampton.
The court heard it was an ‘impulsive’ act fuelled by several hours of drinking as soon as they boarded the ship just hours earlier.
The two men has earlier pleaded guilty.
Once the theft was known, ship security tracked down the two men who became aggressive and had to be restrained.
However, the stolen rings and necklaces were not found.
The court heard a police investigation at the time was inadequate as the ship was about to depart.
During sentencing, Judge Rowland said: “This was an impulsive theft in an unattended shop. You had only been on the ship for four hours.”
Around £50,000 worth of jewellery was never recovered. Cooper admitted selling several items.
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Editor for TravelMole North America and Asia pacific regions. Ray is a highly experienced (15+ years) skilled journalist and editor predominantly in travel, hospitality and lifestyle working with a huge number of major market-leading brands. He has also cover in-depth news, interviews and features in general business, finance, tech and geopolitical issues for a select few major news outlets and publishers.
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