A Metropolitan Police operation has disrupted rogue traders across London in what is described as the “UK’s largest-ever crackdown on organised shoplifting gangs”.
Over two days last week, officers raided more than 120 shops suspected of buying items stolen from major retailers and reselling them at discounted prices.
The majority of businesses targeted were convenience stores, the Met confirmed.
Officers arrested 32 people and seized thousands of stolen items including branded food, make-up and electrical devices, worth hundreds of thousands of pounds.
Nine shops were handed emergency closure orders as a result of Operation Zoridon, seven of which were convenience stores, the force revealed.
The Grocer’s sister title Convenience Store was present for a raid on a vape store in southeast London as part of the two-day stint.
Police stormed the store following intelligence reports it was selling illicit vapes and supplying minors.
Policing minister Sarah Jones said the operation was led by neighbourhood police teams.
“This is exactly what we want our neighbourhood police teams to be doing, out in the community, fighting crime and working together,” Jones said.
“That’s why we’re putting 13,000 more police on our high streets – publicly visible so they can build those relationships with people who are running the shops, and you don’t get a response that says ‘there’s not much we can do’, because that’s not good enough.”
Operation Zoridon came as the Crime and Policing Bill completed its second reading in the House of Lords last week.
Trade bodies welcomed the move, saying it put the sector a step closer to tackling a surge in shop theft and protecting shopworkers from rising levels of abuse and violence.
The Bill, which will now go onto the committee stage, is set to remove the £200 threshold for ‘low-level’ theft and also introduce a standalone offence for assaulting a retail worker.
The sector has called on the government to extend the offence of assaulting a retail worker to home delivery drivers and riders.
Trade union Usdaw surveyed over 300 retail home delivery drivers working mainly in the grocery sector, and found in the past year 77% had been a victim of abuse. Thirteen per cent were assaulted and 26% had refused a delivery due to fear for their safety.
“It remains unclear if the offence will cover delivery drivers, despite new figures from Usdaw revealing that more than three-quarters have been a victim of abuse and over one in 10 have been assaulted during the last 12 months,” said BRC crime policy adviser Lucy Whing.
“We call on the government to ensure the final Act ensures the extension of protections to delivery drivers.”
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