Retail groups have claimed that UK stores are purchasing stolen goods from professional shop thieves who are stealing “to feed their addiction problems.”
The Association of Convenience Stores (ACS) said its members were reporting a ‘high volume’ and ‘very brazen’ incidents of shoplifting over recent months.
The said it was mainly meat, cheese and alcohol items being taken from shelves.
Retailers have reported seeing their stolen products being sold via Facebook or Whatsapp groups, or locally.
ACS chief executive James Lowman said that other businesses, particularly smaller stores, were purchasing stolen items, and that shoplifters were stealing to order, with buyers turning a blind eye as to the origin of the goods.
He said: “What we are seeing is a higher volume of theft from the same people who are professional shop thieves, often doing it to feed addiction problems.
“What we are seeing is a higher volume of theft from the same people who are professional shop thieves, often doing it to feed addiction problems. “
“And how do they do that? Well, they re-sell the products. And so we think there probably is a stronger market for those resold products.
“And that is something that we have been observing and talking about for the last couple of years.”
Andrew Goodacre, chief executive of the British Independent Retailers Association (Bira) said he is aware of criminal gangs getting involved in improving shoplifters ability to steal and dispose of the goods.
He also described hearing more cases in the past year of other stores buying the goods once they are stolen.
The ACS said 5.6 million incidents of shop theft were reported by its members over the past year, with half of the shoplifters being repeat offenders.
In the last year, convenience stores spent £339 million on crime prevention, such as CCTV, alarms and tagging, the ACS told PA.
A British Retail Consortium (BRC) spokesman said stolen goods were ending up in “unscrupulous” restaurants, on market stalls and online marketplaces.
They said: “It’s tough for retailers because they do report these crimes and there are processes they go through.
“But the police response is so low at the moment that unfortunately these crimes, aren’t treated with enough seriousness at the moment.
“These gangs realise they can get away with it.”
Stephanie Karte from Retailers Against Crime, added: “You’ll have your local offender who, unfortunately, nine times out of 10 has an addiction, whether that be alcohol, drugs and, at the end of the day, they’re stealing to feed their habit.
“Basically the items that they do steal, they’re getting money from that and then where’s the money going? It’s going to the drug dealer.
“So at the end of the day, when you think about it and all of these little things, it’s all really funding a more serious crime.”
