A SHOPLIFTER has been jailed after he was caught stealing alcohol worth more than £600 from supermarkets.

Imtiaz Fazal took £252 of champagne from Asda on Lower Dock Street, Newport and £210 of Jack Daniel’s whiskey from Sainsbury’s on the city’s Albany Street.

The 38-year-old had earlier stolen bottles of alcohol valued at £178 from the same Asda store and butter worth nearly £100 from Iceland on Commercial Street.

Fazal, of no fixed abode, Newport pleaded guilty to four counts of theft.

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The defendant “is operating as a professional criminal and the offences were committed whilst he was subject to licence conditions”, the city’s magistrates' court was told.

The thefts were committed between March 14 and April 18.

The defendant was sent to prison for 16 weeks and ordered to pay his victims compensation.

Former mechanic Fazal has a long history of committing shoplifting offences and has been in and out of jail in recent times for stealing.

He was locked up three times last year alone.