Stole perfume to feed his drugs habit

Eimeid Mulholland (21), whose address was listed as Maghaberry Prison, stole the dishwasher tablets worth £7.99 on September 21, 2017.

He admitted the theft when he appeared at Ballymena Magistrates Court via video link from prison, on Thursday.

The defendant also admitted the theft of three bottles of perfume worth £126 from Debenhams in Belfast, dating back to Christmas Eve, 2014.

The court heard the dishwasher tablets were not recovered but the perfume was.

A defence lawyer said his client was currently on remand in prison on a more serious charge of “street-dealing” in heroin and is due to be sentenced at Belfast Crown Court on May 25.

The lawyer said Mulholland was a heroin addict who stole the perfume to sell to feed his habit but that the dishwasher tablets were taken “out of necessity” due to the defendant having “a lack of money”.

Muholland was given a one-month jail term.