A SECOND-hand shop owner has been given a community order for putting a stolen laptop on sale.

Haithem Kshir, 21, who runs City Time in Charminster Road, had pleaded guilty to one count of handling stolen goods after police officers seized various electrical goods from the store in May.

Among the items was a Mac Book Pro laptop valued at £1,300, identified as having been stolen during a house burglary the previous month.

Interviewed by police, Kshir said he'd bought the laptop for £90 or £100 knowing its second-hand value was between £600 and £700 and suspected it had been stolen.

The force's Priority Crime Team is targeting second-hand shop owners who knowingly buy stolen items from burglars.

Acting Detective Sergeant Andy Haworth said: “We have a good working relationship with all reputable second-hand shops in the Bournemouth area.

“But we are aware that much of the stolen property taken during a burglary finds its way into the hands of some of our less scrupulous second-hand shop owners.

“As a result we have been actively targeting these premises. In the last 12 months, the team has arrested two shop traders for possession of stolen property and issued cautions for offences of handling stolen goods.

Dorset Police will proactively pursue any individual believed to be engaged in the handling of stolen goods.”

On Monday (JUN 30), Bournemouth Magistrates ordered Kshir, of Lowther Road, Bournemouth, to carry out 120 hours of unpaid work over the next 12 months and pay a £60 victim surcharge.

Acting Detective Sergeant Andy Haworth said members of the public should take note of the serial numbers of electrical items in their home, and photograph jewellery and other items of financial or sentimental value, to aid police in tracking them down.

“You can also download tracking apps for mobile phones and tablets to assist in the recovery of these items if they are stolen,” he added.

Anyone with information about businesses or individuals involved in burglary or other criminality should call Dorset Police on 101 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.