A rogue supermarket worker who stole sensitive customer data from his employers is to be called back from Lithuania.
Thomas Wengierow was absent from Dundee Sheriff Court on Friday, where he would have faced sentencing for a serious breach of the Data Protection Act.
The 47-year-old delved into databases while working at the Tesco Customer service Centre in Baird Avenue.
Wengierow searched for customer details and then copied the information into emails before sending the data to himself.
His intentions for the sensitive customer information he copied are unknown but may become clear when he returns to Scotland for sentencing.
As he tendered a guilty plea on his client’s behalf, Solicitor David Duncan said: “Mr Wengierow is obviously not present. He has had to return to Lithuania for a family matter.
“He has, however, no fixed return date. I will have to tell him that he must return.”
Wengierow, 47, whose address was given as Pitalipn Court, Dundee, admitted that on February 25 last year, at Tesco Customer Care Centre in Baird Avenue, he obtained personal data without the consent of Tesco Plc in that he copied customer details from a database, transferred the data into an email and sent it to himself.
Sheriff Alastair Carmichael agreed to give Wengierow an opportunity to appear and deferred sentence until April 22 when The Crown will give a full narration of the facts of the case.
In recent years Tesco like many other major companies has been forced to make ever greater efforts to protect customer data from online fraud.
It has come under attack from external hackers, with one of the most serious incidents occurring in February 2014.
The supermarket giant was forced to deactivate online customer accounts after thousands of login details, including passwords, were posted online.
Tesco had not responded to requests for a comment by the time of going to press.
mmackay@thecourier.co.uk