The 'inside man' who helped gang carry out £14k raid on Sainsbury's store

A gang carried out a £14,000 burglary on a new Sainsbury's supermarket with help from and "inside" man.

Radas Balkevicius had been working as a carpenter in the construction of the supermarket in Warrington. As part of his job, he had been given a key and fob to access the business premises.

The break-in happened in the early hours of June 24th 2022 at the newly-opened Sainsbury’s store on Manchester Road in the town.

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On 23 June 2022, two vehicles – a white Vauxhall Astra and a white Mercedes Sprinter van – had travelled to Warrington from Essex in convoy. On arrival in Warrington, the registrations plates were changed to try and evade police detection. CCTV footage then showed the gang approaching the Sainsbury’s store on foot and disabling the alarm panel using a key and fob – which Balkevicius had supplied. Once inside, they forced entry to the self-service tills and stole a quantity of cash.

Footage showed the suspects leave the store via the rear door carrying two plastic bags which contained cash and cigarettes. Moments after exiting the store, the Vauxhall Astra is sighted leaving the area and turning right onto Manchester Road.

Following the initial burglary, the Mercedes Sprinter was then spotted driving towards the store and further suspects entered Sainsbury’s wearing paper suits and face masks. While inside the store, the suspects stole cigarettes and alcohol. Moments later, they also left the store via the rear door.

The store manager had attended the store during this stage of the burglary and