Woman who was part of all-girl gang dubbed the 'Spice Girls' is spared jail for shoplifting spree

By SHANNON MCGUIGAN, NEWS REPORTER Published: 15:21, 2 June 2026 | Updated: 15:28, 2 June 2026 A prolific shoplifter who was in a professional all-girl gang dubbed 'The Spice Girls' has been spared jail after a crime spree where she stole almost £2,400 worth of goods.  Nadia Pecco, 47, who previously went by the alias Nadine Wright, has committed 15 theft offences over the course of nearly two decades up until 2021, Westminster Magistrates Court heard yesterday. Among her long history of offending are the crimes she committed while a part of the professional criminal crew that raided exclusive shops in London's West End and stole £15,000-worth of clothes.  In 2009, the mother-of-four confessed to handling stolen goods and was ordered to carry out 100 hours of unpaid work. The gang also struck at shops in Bluewater, Kent and Lewes in Sussex.  Yesterday, Pecco 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.  The 47-year-old also pleaded guilty to being equipped with a magnetic remover with the intention to conceal.  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 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 TKMaxx in Fulham at around 7.40pm on December 9, 2025. CCTV shows Nadia Pecco, 47, stealing two Tom Ford perfumes Tom Ford Black Orchid Eau De Parfum's valued at £193 on October 24, 2024 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 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 And just a day later she struck again, stealing four perfume bottles worth £1446 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.  Bodycam worn footage shows Pecco become visibly emotional when she was detained by Metropolitan Police officers on the famed London street.  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-days 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 a 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. Her previous Spice Girl shoplifting accomplice Grant (pictured) claimed she suffers from kleptomania and can't help swiping things from shops 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. The 56-year-old 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. 'The judge did what he thinks is right…because sending me to prison, what is the benefit in that?' she said. 'When you go to prison, there's nothing there for you. I have been there already. I went back to prison in December, and nothing changed; everything is worse.' She added: 'I want help and I want the support.' At the time, Grant said she 'would love to change', maintaining she had 'remorse' for shoplifting and insisted: 'I've tried to turn my life around, I've tried to change.' 'I have remorse, I'm not happy about anything that I have done. I also take full responsibility,' she said. 'I am not happy about anything that I have done. I am not proud of it, but I do need help. 'All I need is help and reassurance, but no one is there to help me. What do you do? So I end up back down the same path.' She also claimed that she was diagnosed with kleptomania, adding: 'I take stuff I don't want or need; I just can't help myself. I've tried, but I get anxiety and panic attacks. 'I can't stop myself. Something in my head is telling me I need to take it. The voices in my head are telling me I need to take it.' 'A lot have mental health problems, a lot of us are troubled, there is no cure, and nobody tries to understand,' she argued. Kleptomania is a mental health disorder that involves repeatedly being unable to resist urges to steal items that you generally don't really need. Often, the items stolen have little value, and you could afford to buy them. No comments have so far been submitted. Why not be the first to send us your thoughts, or debate this issue live on our message boards. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. 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