Romanian ‘champagne gang’ sweeps through Britain’s supermarkets stealing more than £70,000 worth of goods
16 October 2024, 16:36
Police are hunting a group of professional shoplifters who stole £73,000 worth of champagne and other luxury goods.
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The “Mafia-style” operation runs like a professional business and is designed to supply expensive champagne to mainland Europe, reports the National Business Crime Solution (NBCS).
The group, named the “champagne gang” by the NBCS, usually works in groups of three, utilising Bluetooth devices to communicate.
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The callous thieves attempt to blend in with other shoppers before grabbing the luxury items and making their escape.
“It’s like a mafia-style operation. It’s run like a business,” Sarah Bird, the head of local services for NBCS, told the BBC.
“They travel to a specific place, they have a shopping list of things they need to steal. They steal the goods and get a day rate,” Mrs Bird continued.
The group is structured like a business, with a clear hierarchy and employees who get paid for their crimes.
According to NBCS data, the gang hails from Romania and is responsible for 60 shoplifting incidents across the UK, from Gateshead to Bournemouth.
The NBCS first took notice of the group in early 2023 as its thieves began stealing more luxury items, including fresh meat.
“They were originally using trolleys to take goods out the stores,” said Mrs Bird.
“However retailers invested in trolley wheel technology to stop the trolleys at certain points in the stores.
“So they’ve started to now use baskets and bags to remove the goods.”
Mrs Bird told the BBC that during one theft in Harrogate, North Yorkshire, at least seven members of the gang entered a shop.
She said: “We believe they took the opportunity in the Harrogate store as a training day for the new recruits - showing them the ropes and then effectively putting them to work.
“If they’re caught, they’re disposable. Generally speaking if they’re arrested and charged they’ll be bailed and quite often they’ll move back to their country - in this case to Romania.”
As of October 2024, only two members of the group have been prosecuted.
Prior to Labour’s General Election win, Sir Keir Starmer pledged to crackdown on shoplifting.
Speaking in April, Sir Keir said: “Today I am putting shoplifters on notice. You might get away with this under a weak Tory government.
“But if Labour takes power, we won’t stand by while crime takes over our streets."
And he hit out at "epidemic" levels of shop theft which can never be described as "petty".
Sir Keir added: “Nobody in Britain should be in any doubt about the scale of the crime wave on our high streets at the moment. The epidemic levels of shoplifting and the persistent plague of antisocial behaviour.
“Some people call this type of crime ‘petty’. But they don’t work in your shop. They don’t walk in your shoes. Don’t see the damage this does to your community.”
