A notorious shoplifter, once part of an infamous all-female gang known as the ‘Spice Girls’, has narrowly avoided a prison sentence following a series of thefts amounting to nearly £2,400.
Nadia Pecco, who previously used the alias Nadine Wright, has a lengthy record of 15 theft-related offenses spanning almost two decades, a history revealed in Westminster Magistrates Court proceedings. Her criminal activities include being a member of a skilled crew that targeted upscale stores in London’s West End, making off with clothing valued at £15,000.
Back in 2009, Pecco, a mother of four, admitted to handling stolen goods, resulting in a court mandate of 100 hours of community service. The gang’s operations extended to shops in Bluewater, Kent, and Lewes, Sussex, further highlighting their reach.
During the latest court session, Pecco acknowledged her guilt concerning four separate shoplifting incidents in Westminster, Stratford, Fulham, and Essex over a little more than a year.
Adding to her offenses, the 47-year-old admitted to carrying a magnetic remover, a tool intended for shoplifting.
The 47-year-old also pleaded guilty to being equipped with a magnetic remover with the intention to conceal.
Following her crime spree, she was arrested on December 17, 2025, on Oxford Street during a live facial recognition deployment after being identified by a member of retail staff. The Met has been using the technology to crack down on prolific shoplifters.
Bodycam worn footage shows Pecco become visibly emotional when she was detained by Metropolitan Police officers on the famed London street, bringing her shoplifting rampage to an end.
In her most recent shoplifting spree, the prolific shoplifter stole £150.84 worth of accessories from a Stradivarius store on October 2, 2024, before striking a Perfume Shop in Westfield, Stratford, just 22 days later.
Here, she stole two Tom Ford Black Orchid Eau De Parfums valued at £193 each from the shop at around 5.35pm, the court heard.
CCTV shows Nadia Pecco, 47, stealing two Tom Ford Black Orchid Eau De Parfums valued at £193 on October 24, 2024
Melissa Grant (pictured), 55, her previous Spice Girl shoplifting gang accomplice was cleared of stealing £19,000 worth of designer items because of her ‘mental health issues’ in 2025
Her previous Spice Girl shoplifting accomplice Grant (pictured) claimed she suffers from kleptomania and can’t help swiping things from shops
The serial shoplifter (pictured), who was previously a part of the all-girl gang dubbed the Spice Girls who wreaked havoc on high end stores in London’s West End, pleaded guilty to four counts of theft yesterday at Westminster Magistrates Court
CCTV footage shows the brazen thief enter the store wearing a cream coat, exploring the shelves packed with luxury perfumes before appearing to conceal them underneath her outerwear.
Pecco also stole eight handbags, concealed within larger handbags with an estimated value of £384.84 at a TK Maxx in Fulham at around 7.40pm on December 9, 2025.
And just a day later she struck again, stealing four perfume bottles worth £1,446 at a Perfume Shop at Lakeside Shopping Centre in Essex at around 5.50pm.
Eventually her crime spree was brought to an end after she was identified by a member of retail staff, and arrested on Oxford Street on December 17, 2025, where she was in possession of a de-tagger.
Caroline Newport, mitigating, said Pecco is ‘very vulnerable’ while adding that there were big gaps of between ‘five and six years’ in her offending.
‘When she is in a stable position she no longer offends,’ she told the magistrates court, while noting that Pecco’s ‘physical and mental health has suffered’ over time.
Ms Newport said the 47-year-old’s previous relationship coupled with domestic violence meant she was coerced into crime and that she ‘feared reprisals’.
‘Her ex and his cousin are men who basically put her out to steal. She is very vulnerable in that respect,’ she told the court.
Pecco is ‘very keen to lead a different life’ and ‘determined to get better to engage with her children’, one of which is in care, Ms Newport added, while also noting the mother-of-four’s desire to gain a trade and join a hairdressing course.
‘She is keen to receive support from community mental health team and isn’t shying away for that,’ Ms Newport added.
‘She feels embarrassment on behalf of her son, and feels frustrated that she has fallen on the same track again.
‘She feels very sorry. She feels deeply that she has let people down while being taken advantage of herself.’
The 47-year-old was handed an 18-month community order as well as a 20-day rehabilitation activity requirement.
Pecco, of Surrey, was ordered to pay £50 costs and a surcharge of £114. She was not ordered to pay compensation by the Magistrates Court.
A Criminal Behaviour Order (CBO) was also issued against her until April 20, 2029.
The CBO prevents her entering Westfield in Stratford City, Stratford Shopping Mall, Oxford Street and the City of Westminster.
However, concessions were given allowing her to access Hyde Park and Green Park via Victoria station.
As part of her CBO she will also have to adhere to any banning orders issued by any given store or branch in the future.
Pecco (pictured offending on October, 24, 2024) pleaded guilty to four counts of theft from shops across Westminster, Stratford, Fulham and Essex, over the course of just over a year at Westminster Magistrates Court
Bodycam worn footage shows Pecco become visibly emotional when she was detained by Metropolitan Police officers on Oxford Street, on December 17, 2025
She was also told that she would not be able to go to Jamaica to support her grandmother without prior permission from the probation service.
Detective Inspector David Saffery, of the West End Crime Team, said: ‘Tackling shoplifting is a top priority for the Met, and we solved nearly twice as many cases last year while arresting almost 50 per cent more suspects.
‘Pecco was brazen in her offending, carrying out multiple thefts across high-value stores in the West End, targeting expensive clothing and perfumes.
‘She was identified through CCTV enquiries and circulated as wanted, before being located and arrested during a live facial recognition deployment. This is a clear example of how this technology helps us quickly track down and stop those causing harm to communities across London.’
Jamie Conroy, Acting Director, Security and Operations at New West End Company, said: ‘The sentencing of Nadia Pecco is an important step forward in disrupting the “Spice Girls”.
‘It is also the result of long-term focused partnership working, and a positive step change in how the Met approaches retail crime.
‘As the representative for more than 800 West End businesses, we’ve seen first-hand the direct impact this organised crime group has had on our members, from financial costs to staff safety and wellbeing. For several years, we have worked closely with the Met to build a case for targeted enforcement, share historic evidence packs, and provide live on-street intelligence.
‘Tackling crime in the West End requires intelligence-led coordinated action. Backed by our member businesses, we’re investing £23m into West End security infrastructure. Together with the Met, we know we can make the West End safer and stronger.’
It comes after her ‘Spice Girl’ shoplifting accomplice, Melissa Grant, who was cleared of stealing £19,000 worth of designer items because of ‘mental health issues’ walked free again – after stealing more than £1,000 worth of perfume.
In 2009, Grant alongside another accomplice Camille Gray, then-20, admitted to conspiracy to steal at Southwark Crown Court, where they were jailed for 21 and 26 months respectively.
Pecco, then known as Nadine Wright, admitted handling stolen goods and was ordered to do 100 hours of unpaid work.
Jacqueline Thompson, 28, of east London, and Ola Ilesanmi, 39, of south-west London, had also been part of the gang.
A sixth member, Angela Johnson, of south London, failed to appear at court after admitting a charge of conspiracy to steal.
However Grant would go on to strike once again, stealing £19,000 worth of designer items from Selfridges over four days, later appearing in Westminster Magistrates Court charged with four counts of theft from the high-end store.
The charges related to two designer bags to the value of £4,730, four Optika shirts worth £2,800, five Cas Lee shirts to the value of £6,620, a £1,810 medium logo bag, a £325 Oblique Bylon cap and a £2,650 Alalia dress.
During the 2009 court trial for shoplifting, it was heard that Grant ‘behaved aggressively towards a shop assistant’ during the gang’s stealing spree, saying to her companion, ‘I feel like spitting in her face’.
One of her accomplices was then stopped by officers who found the bags were full of stolen clothing from GAP, Uniqlo, Oasis and Next, which included 15 pairs of trousers, four tops and three pairs of shoes.
Police later spotted Grant and the rest of the gang loading more black sacks into the boot of an Audi before arresting them.
She said that due to her mental health struggles and her troubled background she often ends up back ‘down the wrong path’
In an exclusive interview from her home in 2025 (pictured) claimed that she doesn’t want to steal but the ‘voices in her head’ tell her to do it
The bags were also found to contain stolen clothes from All Saints and Warehouse, with all the items totalling a value of around £1,500.
They later raided a flat in Southwark linked to the gang and found £10,700 worth of clothes and underwear from La Senza, Topshop, Next, Monsoon and River Island with the security tags still on them.
There was a further £10,700 worth of goods with the tags off, including underwear from upmarket erotic boutique Coco de Mer.
However, when the mother-of-two was found to have re-offended in 2024, she was cleared of her crimes as prosecutors decided that the ‘public interest wasn’t met’ in pursuing a conviction against her due to her mental health problems.
In an exclusive interview with the Daily Mail at the time, Grant claimed she did not want to steal but ‘the voices in her head’ tell her to do it. In 2025, she said: ‘Because of my mental health, I have an urge to steal. I can’t stop myself.’
But it has since emerged that the 56-year-old had gone on to steal nearly £1,500 worth of perfume from a shopping centre in Essex.
Grant of Catford confessed to stealing an exorbitant amount of perfumes from the Perfume Shop in Lakeside Shopping on December 8, 2025.
She was later sentenced to an 18-month suspended prison sentence at Bromley Magistrates’ Court on February 5 of this year.
Grant was also banned from the store for the next year and a half and has been ordered to pay a £187 surcharge as well as undergo 25 days of rehabilitation activity.
After being spared a conviction for the shoplifting spree, Grant said there would be no ‘benefit’ in putting her back behind bars.
