Supermarket theft suspect remanded

A CHECK-OUT attendant at a Larnaca supermarket allegedly dipped her hand into the till up to three times a day over the past 10 months, taking a total of £12,000.

Twenty-one-year-old Maria Iliadou, who worked at the Orphanides supermarket, was yesterday brought up before the Larnaca District Court and remanded in custody for four days on suspicion of theft.

The court heard Iliadou, from Larnaca, had admitted to taking the money from her till to pay off a bank loan, finance a trip abroad, buy gifts for her friends, and pay her college fees.

She avoided detection for months by recording her ‘takings’ as moneys returned to customers for faulty goods, the court heard. She was arrested on Friday after being put under surveillance by supervisors who noticed unusually large amounts were being returned to customers from Iliadou’s till, police told the court.