Organized Retail Crime causes billions in losses
The organized theft of small, but expensive retail goods is causing billions of dollars in losses for national retail chains.
This case is but a part of a growing problem of organized retail crime, which represents as much as $30 billion in retail losses every year, according to the FBI. A National Retail Federation survey released in June found that 85 percent of retailers have been victimized by organized retail crime within the last year, compared to 79 percent in 2007. Florida is one of the most active states.
The prime target: drugstores and grocery stores. The Pharmacare case is one of several indictments handed down this year in similar cases around Florida and across the country involving theft of over-the-counter-medications and health and beauty aids. The players may be different, but the style of the crimes are almost identical.
The thieves steal small goods that are easy to hide but are of high value.
The way these drugstore crime rings operate starts with a group of professional shoplifters known as ”boosters,” who steal with the intent to resell the merchandise. It’s not uncommon for these individuals to hit a dozen or more stores in the span of a day.
In as little as five minutes, they can sweep several shelves and walk out carrying a bag loaded with several thousand dollars in stolen merchandise. Their targets are typically small but expensive items like Prilosec, Oil of Olay, Braun toothbrush heads, Xantac, Claritin, diet pills and more.
They manage to pass undetected through store security because their bags are lined with special aluminum foil that keeps the alarm tags on the stolen merchandise from going off. Others push products out in the bottom of baby carriages or even in shopping carts, claiming that a friend is in line paying for it.
”These criminals make every effort to distract employees,” said Joseph LaRocca, vice president of loss prevention for the National Retail Federation. “Unless you’ve seen them do it, you’re not sure if they’ve paid for this or not.”
The boosters then sell their products for no more then 30 cents on a dollar or a flat $1 per piece rate to a ”fence.” Stolen merchandise is often passed from lower level fences to higher level fences who purchase larger quantities of products.
