A shoplifter has been jailed after CCTV caught him casually walking out of a store carrying an entire display of Cadbury Mini Eggs.

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Along with the chocolate, 39-year-old Ashley Daley carried out a three-week crime spree across South Wales and Gwent, targeting stores in Cardiff, Taff’s Well, Merthyr Tydfil, Chepstow and Caldicot.

But despite racking up more than £4,000 worth of losses for businesses, Daley appeared completely unfazed about being identified, with police saying he made “no effort” to hide himself while committing the offences, The Mirror reports.

One theft in particular left both shoppers and police stunned.

CCTV footage captured Daley walking into a Tesco supermarket before lifting an entire cardboard Mini Eggs display and carrying it straight out of the store in full view of customers.

According to South Wales Police, the theft was part of a wider pattern of brazen offending that unfolded across multiple locations.

A police spokesperson said: “Daley did not take any efforts to hide his identity, boldly walking into stores and filling up bags with meat, Easter eggs and alcohol, which amounted to a high loss for the businesses. In one case he attended a store stealing an entire display of Mini Eggs, making no effort to mask his wrongdoing, with all of these incidents being captured on CCTV.”

The footage reportedly showed other shoppers doing double takes as Daley casually walked away carrying the display, making no attempt to rush or conceal what he was doing.

Authorities later revealed the 39-year-old was responsible for a string of thefts and attempted thefts committed over the course of just three weeks.

South Wales Police said Daley repeatedly targeted supermarkets “in a planned manner, by attending a variety of different locations”.

His run finally came to an end on February 21, per The Independent, after officers stopped a vehicle he was travelling in shortly after another theft had been committed earlier that day.

During the arrest, officers discovered Daley was carrying a kitchen knife, which resulted in an additional charge being added to the growing list against him.

Daley was ultimately charged with 12 offences of theft, one attempted theft and possession of a bladed article.

He has now been jailed for four months.

Investigating officer Detective Constable Warriner said: “Daley is a prolific offender who was brazen in his actions across the country, showing a clear disregard for the law and believing himself above it.

“Shoplifting is not a victimless crime, and offenders like Daley have a big financial impact on businesses, and emotional impact on those who work there.

“Daley would have continued targeting businesses across the UK and I am glad to see that he has now been prevented from doing so.”

The case comes amid growing concern surrounding shoplifting across the UK, with retailers increasingly warning about the financial and emotional toll theft is having on businesses and staff. The Sun reports that the annual number of shoplifting cases has surpassed 500,000.

Some major chains – such as Greggs – have already begun introducing stricter anti-theft measures, including removing self-service tills and placing products behind secure counters in an effort to tackle rising incidents.

But few cases have grabbed attention quite like Daley’s Mini Eggs theft — with some social media users outright applauding the utter absurdity of it.

“Honestly after seeing the price of mini eggs over Easter, fair enough,” one person joked, with another commenting: “love how on the CCTV it looks like he’s on a mission to steal something else, but then spots the Mini Eggs and just can’t resist.”

Featured image credit: YouTube/SouthWalesPolice