Man Banned from Cambridgeshire After Stealing £220 Worth of Cadbury Creme Eggs

Following his involvement in a major chocolate robbery three months ago, a man has been banned from entering Cambridgeshire, highlighting the difficulties stores experience over the Easter season.

Details of the Incident

Deon De Groot, 26, entered the Tesco Express on Welland Road in Dogsthorpe, Peterborough, on March 22, 2025, at about 11:40 a.m. Witnesses saw him stuffing a duffel bag full of Cadbury Creme Eggs. De Groot then left the shop without making payment for the £220.50 worth of goods.

WATCH: How do you steal yours? Man banned from Cambridgeshire after stealing £220 worth of Cadbury’s Creme Eggs in Peterboroughhttps://t.co/qlrIpVbmzZ pic.twitter.com/1r0l599cXL

— Peterborough Telegraph (@peterboroughtel) March 26, 2025

Alerting neighbouring police authorities, a watchful store employee followed De Groot. Authorities were suspicious and found a large amount of the pilfers of stolen confectionary hidden inside his jacket. They also recovered the duffle bag with other Creme Egg boxes nearby. De Groot, without a permanent residence, was later charged with stealing.

De Groot admitted to the shoplifting charge during his March 25 appearance before Peterborough Magistrates’ Court. The court sentenced him to twelve weeks in prison, suspended for one year, and issued a Criminal Behaviour Order (CBO) prohibiting him from visiting Cambridgeshire for the next three months.

Law Enforcement’s Response

“Thanks to the quick reaction by staff who flagged us down, we were able to catch De Groot red-handed and return the stolen items back to the store,” police Constable Guy Cunningham, who was in charge of the arrest, said of the store personnel’s quick response.

This event fits a larger trend of confectionery-related theft, mostly involving Cadbury Creme Eggs. Notably, in February 2023, an English guy entered a guilty plea to pilfering about 200,000 Cadbury Creme Eggs, which led law enforcement to remark that they had “helped save Easter” for treat enthusiasts.

Popularity of Cadbury Creme Eggs

Still a classic Easter dessert in the United Kingdom, Cadbury Creme Eggs are Just below After Eights, Creme Eggs ranked 49th among the top 50 most popular confectioneries based on YouGov’s data from the last quarter of 2024; Maltesers leads the list.

Deon De Groot’s case emphasises the ongoing problem of seasonal goods theft and the need for alertness among stores and society, particularly during high-demand seasons like Easter.