Hundreds of women and kids trafficked to UK to shoplift for organised gangs

12 December 2023 , 20:31

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CCTV footage appears to show children shoplifting at a supermarket (Image: Deadline News)

Hundreds of vulnerable women and children are being trafficked to the UK to shoplift for organised gangs, it was revealed yesterday.

One Eastern European group has recruited 154 thieves to steal high-value items in bulk that are then sold or shipped abroad. The gang, based in Glasgow, was first spotted in 2019. It has targeted London, Birmingham, Manchester, Darlington and cities across the North and Scotland.

Retailers Against Crime has identified 56 shoplifting groups, all being used to fund organised crime with links to drugs, firearms and human trafficking. Maxine Fraser, managing director at RAC, said that four girls who arrived in 2019 are still working with the Glasgow gang.

Retailers Against Crime has identified 56 shoplifting groups (Deadline News)

She said: “They’ve all been in the UK since they were between 12 and 14-years-old. There are probably in the region of 15 children working in this group at the moment.” Adam Ratcliffe, of the Safer Business Network, said another 100-strong gang operates in London with members all ­trafficked from Eastern Europe.

He told the BBC ’s File on 4: “They are often carrying all the risk and seeing none of the reward. They are vulnerable and have been exploited.” The Mirror’s Clampdown on Shoplifting campaign is calling for urgent action and for police to investigate all retail thefts.

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