WESTPORT — A New York man accused of shoplifting merchandise from Ulta Beauty on Post Road East — a repeated target of thieves over the last several years — was tracked down by a GPS device the store recently began attaching to its goods, police said.

Gela Nadirashvili, 37, of Brooklyn, N.Y., was charged March 21 with fifth-degree larceny and conspiracy to commit fifth-degree larceny.

Police were dispatched Feb. 3 to investigate the latest report of shoplifting at Ulta Beauty, 1365 Post Road East, in which suspects reportedly stole merchandise and fled the scene in a white vehicle.

In an effort to curb repeated incidents of shoplifting — earlier thefts have been valued in the thousands of dollars — police said Ulta management has affixed GPS tracking equipment to merchandise. Read about some of the earlier shoplifting incidents here, here, here, here and here.

Officers at the scene were told that a device affixed to the stolen merchandise was actively tracking the suspect.

The Detective Bureau’s investigation was able to identify both the owner and the operator of the suspected getaway vehicle, police said.

Nadirashvili, identified as the driver of the car Feb. 3, allegedly “admitted to driving individuals to the store, but denied having any involvement with the thefts,” according to the report.

During Nadirashvili’s interview at Police Department headquarters, it was noted that he had arrived in the same car used during the shoplifting incident. 

And when he tried to show detectives there were no stolen goods in the vehicle, “the GPS tracker that was attached to the stolen merchandise was found in his car,” according to the report.

A warrant for Nadirashvili’s arrest was issued, and he returned to headquarters March 21 to be formally charged.

He was released after posting $20,000 bond, and is scheduled to be arraigned March 30 at state Superior Court in Stamford.