The whereabouts of Edvin Groza are unknown but he is believed to have returned to Hungary
16:22, 15 Jan 2026
An Amazon warehouse employee stole thousands of pounds worth of designer sports watches and other items before skipping bail and going on the run, a court has heard.
Edvin Groza has been wanted for more than eight years but has now been given a prison sentence in his absence. Swansea Crown Court heard it is believed the 49-year-old has returned to his native Hungary. A judge said that "in the highly unlikely event" that the defendant comes back to the UK he will be required to serve his sentence.
Tom Scapens, prosecuting, told the court that in 2016 Groza was employed at the Amazon warehouse off Fabian Way where his job was to take incoming stock and put it on the shelves ready for picking by colleagues. He said through his employment the defendant had access to the Amazon database which identified where high-value items were kept.
The court heard that on October 30, 2016, an Amazon loss prevention officer was reviewing CCTV footage from the previous week when he noticed Groza removing items from the shelves but not scanning them into the warehouse's computerised stock movement system. The boxes were later replaced on the shelves.
The prosecutor said when the boxes in question were examined they were found to be empty. Seven sports watches worth hundreds of pounds each were found to be missing.
The court heard that on November 3 the defendant was approached as he was finishing his shift and was confronted with the CCTV evidence but denied any wrongdoing. His locker was searched and was found to contain three Fitbit watches. The instruction manuals for the devices were found hidden in his shoes. The matter was reported to the police.
The prosecutor said that when the defendant's address on Roderick Close in Townhill was searched, officers found "a large collection of items" including mobile phones, Oakley sunglasses, 38 Fitbit sports watches, nine Polar sports watches and three Garmin sports watches along with chargers, manuals, and other accessories. Officers also recovered £8,900 in cash along with 2,000 Euros, and some 350,000 Hungarian Forint.
The court heard that in interview Groza said he had worked for Amazon for the last three-and-a-half years. He accepted taking the items found in his locker but denied stealing the items found in his home saying he had bought them from the regular car boot sale held in Swansea's High Street car park and had been going to given to friends. He claimed the money found by police was money from his family and the proceeds of rental properties he owned in Hungary.
The prosecutor said the defendant's claims to have bought the items in a car boot sale were "fanciful" and he said it was the prosecution case that Groza was stealing valuable and desirable items from his place and work and was "a trader in stolen goods" whether they be stolen by him or by others. For the latest court stories sign up to our crime newsletter
The court heard the watches and other items recovered from the house were subsequently returned to Amazon and were destroyed as they could not be sold. The court heard that the money found in the property has also been destroyed in years since it was found, something which the judge expressed his surprise at.
The court heard that Groza subsequently pleaded guilty to two counts of theft encompassing the items found in his locker and in his property and was bailed in September 2017 pending the preparation of a pre-sentence report.
The prosecutor said the defendant did not attend his sentencing hearing, and a warrant was issued for his arrest. He said there was police intelligence to show that Groza's wife and children had returned to Hungary following his guilty pleas and said "the assumption is he has done the same".
Edvin Groza, whereabouts unknown, had previously pleaded guilty to two counts of theft when the case returned to Swansea Crown Court for the outstanding bench warrant to be withdrawn and for the defendant to be sentenced in his absence. He has no previous convictions in the UK.
Ryan Bowen, for the absent Groza, said that the reality was that in seeking to avoid justice the defendant had not assisted in mitigation which he said could be dealt with briefly - namely the defendant's guilty pleas, his lack of previous convictions in the UK, and the principle of totality when sentencing for more than one offence.
Judge Paul Thomas KC said the former Amazon worker had been involved in a "planned criminal enterprise" involving stealing expensive watches and other items in a significant breach of the trust placed in him by his employer. He said the defendant had then absented himself from the jurisdiction and returned to Hungary in breach of his bail conditions.
With a one-quarter discount for his guilty pleas Groza was sentenced to 12 months in prison. The judge said that "in the highly unlikely event" that the defendant returns to the UK he will be required to serve his sentence.
Judge Thomas said he was surprised to hear that the money seized from the defendant had been destroyed, and he said he would allow the prosecution 14 days to apply for a confiscation order for the cash if it turned out the information about its destruction was incorrect.