Hundreds of dollars' worth of parcels containing the above and more were delivered to eager recipients in suburban Gungahlin one day late last year.

But the 10 packages holding those items were all snatched away from doorsteps by 42-year-old student Adam Chavasse and his accomplices before they had ever reached the hands of their rightful owners.

The Nicholls man pleaded guilty in the ACT Magistrates Court on Wednesday to 10 counts of joint commission minor theft, admitting he and co-offenders nicked more than $880 worth of goods in just a few hours on October 20 last year.

Documents tendered to the court show all 10 parcels were delivered to residents in Casey and Nicholls on the day in question, when members of the public contacted police about "suspicious" people who were travelling around in a Volkswagen Golf and approaching homes.

Officers later spotted and followed the car, which Chavasse had bought from an auction yard three months earlier, to the Bonner shops.

Chavasse and the other two occupants of the vehicle were arrested, and police found the stolen packages lying throughout the car "in plain sight".

Other items that were delivered inside the parcels included a printer, an NRMA magazine, a reusable cup and bottle, and women's clothing.

Court documents show that Chavasse was subject to a good behaviour order when he embarked on the spree of thefts.

Legal Aid lawyer Solitaire Zahnleiter told the court on Wednesday that the 42-year-old had a lengthy history of illicit substance use.

But Ms Zahnleiter said her client was "practically attempting to address those issues", with a stint in a residential drug rehabilitation facility about to commence.

Magistrate Louise Taylor said it was clear from the material before the court that drug use was an issue that "looms large" for Chavasse.

Ms Taylor told the 42-year-old she did not want to lecture him on "how to suck eggs".

But she warned him that if he did not make a genuine effort to kick his ongoing drug habit and stop committing crimes because of it, he would be "heading very close" to time behind bars.

"If you sit here long enough, you will see individuals who tell me they're 40 [but] look 400 because of the ravages of illicit substance use," she told Chavasse.

Ms Taylor ultimately resolved to adjourn Chavasse's sentence proceedings to allow the man to attend residential rehabilitation and prove to the court he was serious about long-term sobriety.

She expressed concern that "without these proceedings hanging over [Chavasse's] head, [his] motivation to reform might fall away".

Chavasse replied: "That's fair."

The 42-year-old's case is due back in court on June 22.

A man and a woman, who are alleged to have stolen the parcels alongside Chavasse, remain before the courts.

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