A desperate thief who stole £9,000 in chips from an Aberdeen casino had travelled to the city from Birmingham after being banned from every gambling den in England.
Mahmudul Hasan, 47, was arrested after a night out at the Rainbow Casino on Summer Street in March.
When he first appeared at Aberdeen Sheriff Court last month, it emerged that the accused had stashed the stolen chips in a public bin to evade detection.
Hasan returned to the dock yesterday, where Sheriff Ian Wallace ordered him to carry out 135 hours of unpaid work.
Defence solicitor, Stuart Murray, said his client considered the theft a “victimless crime” and claimed his only defence was that he was addicted to gambling.
Mr Murray added: “He is banned from all casinos in England.”
Hasan, of Beacon Close in Birmingham, spent the evening of Tuesday, March 26, playing blackjack at the venue before stealing a box containing chips.
He smuggled the plastic tokens out of the premises in his jacket – but sparked suspicion an hour later when he returned to exchange some of them for £700 in cash.
Staff noticed the missing box and contacted police, who traced the accused at a different casino – where he was then arrested.
Hasan allegedly remarked to police that an “African man” had helped him smuggle the float out the casino and hide it in a bin.
Police then searched the street and discovered the box of chips concealed in a public bin “carefully placed so that nothing would fall out”.
