'Staggering' $2 million theft lands London Drugs employee in jail

London Drugs hired Carlos Cenon Santos to work as a "merchandise handler" — a title that turned out to be as fitting for the B.C. man's criminal pursuits as his actual employment.

According to a B.C. provincial court judgment, Santos stole as much as $2 million worth of stock from London Drugs, one high-end item at a time, over the course of five years, selling the goods on Craigslist and pocketing as much as $1 million.

"The quantum of the theft is clearly staggering," Judge Nancy Phillips said as she sentenced the 34-year-old.

"It was clearly deliberate, intentional and planned. And Mr. Santos did not stop until he was caught. Otherwise, it continued unabated and undetected."

'Employee bags were not searched'

Phillips sentenced Santos to two years in prison last month after he pleaded guilty to theft over $5,000; the ruling was only posted recently.

According to the decision, Santos was hired in October 2016 — training as a merchandise handler and working his way into handling "high-value items, including electronic items."

"The offence itself, the pattern, was mostly an unsophisticated one that involved Mr. Santos using his access to these high-value electronic items," Phillips said.

"He would remove items such as laptops from their packaging, secret them under his shirt, go to his locker area in the employee room and then secret the item in a pack. He would leave at the end of the shift with the item in his pack."

The judge said Santos took advantage "of an awareness he had that employee bags were not searched when an employee left the premise at the end of or during their shift."

Santos is believed to have stolen around 245 separate items over the course of five years — pilfering 52 items alone during the time he was under surveillance.

Phillips said he posted the stolen goods on Craigslist and sold them at a discount that still allowed him to make between $750,000 and $1 million.

"I am told that Mr. Santos spent the money mostly to fund his lifestyle and to do such things as paying bills, to buy medicine for his family and to make online purchases," the judge said.

'An act of vengeance'

According to the ruling, the scheme came to light when a supervisor noticed that Santos appeared to be concealing a laptop.

"That led to Mr. Santos being subject to surveillance and to CCTV video being reviewed," Phillips said, noting that Santos coughed up an itemized recounting of all the thefts and profits when he was confronted by store management.

"He confessed in a statement to the police to a years-long theft from London Drugs for money or gain. He added that he was unhappy with the company and its wages and pace, and he started to steal in a bit of an act of vengeance against his employer."

The manager of the investigation team for London Drugs provided the court with a victim impact statement, pointing out that the theft happened during the two-year period of the COVID pandemic when "London Drugs was struggling as an employer."

She said Santos' crime took hundreds of hours to investigate, noting the "emotional toll to her of dealing with the theft during such challenging times."

Santos had no criminal record prior to the thefts.

"He knows that one of the biggest consequences to him will be that his employment prospects in the future will be hugely negatively impacted. He understands he has to pay for what he has done,'" Phillips said.

"Mr. Santos, I am told, comes from a good home. He allowed his dissatisfaction as an employee with London Drugs to cause him to act out in vengeance, and from there, it gained momentum. He feels quite ashamed of his behaviour."

In a statement to CBC, a spokesperson for London Drugs said the company would not comment on legal matters involving current or former employees.

"There is no doubt, however, that the impact of theft has a huge impact on retailers, communities and consumers," the company said.