Inside the £70K ‘mafia-style’ shoplifting champagne gang

Retailers have repeatedly warned that shoplifting gangs are helping to fuel the rise in retail crime – and it is hitting shoppers in their pockets.

Shoplifting added £133 to the cost of an average UK household’s annual shopping bill, according to the Centre for Retail Research.

Browns department store in Beverley, East Yorkshire, is being targeted by gangs who are getting smarter – its manager, Sarah Walker, says.

In March, one gang stole perfume from her store and within 90 minutes had targeted another Browns shop, 30 miles away in York.

“They’ve done research on the market where they’re going, they’ve looked at shops that have got the products that they need. It’s calculated,” Mrs Walker says.

Staff watch as gangs of four to six people of both sexes enter the shop, knowing exactly what to target.

“These gangs are intimidating, they can be young, and to put my staff under that vulnerability it’s hard,” says Mrs Walker.

“You don’t expect to come to work and be pushed and shoved out the way for someone who has got a shopping list – it’s organised crime and it’s a hit to our business.”

Mrs Walker says she reports shoplifting incidents to the police but it often “falls on deaf ears” and no-one gets arrested.

She wants to see more information sharing between UK police forces.