Trader jailed over stolen 
charitybag clothing

Lithuanian Eligijus Baljanas supplied second hand clothing to Eastern Europe but last year police discovered stolen charity bags both at his home and in a container at his storage premises on the Seckar Wood Industrial Estate in Wakefield.

Alisdair Campbell, prosecuting, told Leeds Crown Court after Baljanas moved into Woodlands Drive, East Ardsley, witnesses noticed what they believed were charity bags being delivered there.

As a result in July last year police executed a search warrant at the address and found a number of such bags.

Baljanas said he distributed his own bags and leaflets requesting items for his business Clothes Home Ltd, which were collected by drivers who might have legitimate access to such bags if given them as overfill.

Police executed a second search warrant on August 18 at the industrial estate where he had 10 containers and one was found to contain 595 bags belonging to various charities.

Witnesses working nearby said Baljanas was hands on when drivers arrived with deliveries checking the quality of clothes and weighing them. Mr Campbell said it was not possible to say all the 595 bags were stolen but Baljanas accepted at least 50 were.

Baljanas, 29, admitted handling stolen goods. Jailing him Judge Christopher Batty said he was well aware of the dishonesty involved since in 2008 when as a driver he was cautioned for “scooping up charity bags” left out by members of the public.

The judge added: “Those charities have been experiencing difficult times from around that period, which was really the onset of the recession. Donation of such clothing is very important to each charity who use it as a source of income.”

But the judge said rather than take his warning and trade only in legitimate second hand clothing “what those working for you used to do was scoop up anything and everything including charity bags”.

The judge said instead of rejecting the charity bags “you weighed them in and you sold them for profit taking the money away from their intended destination and to line your own pockets.

“You have only yourself to blame, you could have carried on your business if you had only been honest.”