Inside the world of shoplifting rings

“I think it’s a demon, please forgive me. If I was in my right senses, I would not have done this,”a young mother pleaded for mercy after she was intercepted and arrested by alert security at a giant retail outlet in Harare.

The woman was arrested for stealing a packet of washing powder, a 750ml bottle of cooking oil and two bars of bathing soap.

The pilfered goods were found neatly tucked between the lady’s back and the belly of her strapped two-year-old child.

It was the baby’s ‘unusual’ fidgeting and loud cries, perhaps from discomfort, that betrayed the mother.

Upon interrogation, the woman revealed she was part of a large syndicate that steals from different shops on a daily basis.

“. . . we take turns and each person is supposed to steal specific products,” she revealed. This is just the tip of the iceberg.

Shoplifting is fast becoming one of the most organised and‘lucrative’criminal enterprises in the country.

Retail outlets are reeling as they a losing goods worth hundreds of thousands of dollars to both professional and amateur shoplifters. Although shoplifting is as old as shopping itself, gangs of shoplifters in Harare are becoming more organised and sophisticated, giving retailers sleepless nights. Unlike in the past when shoplifters were mostly small, rag-tag bands, investigations by The Sunday Mail Society show that organised rings have since taken over.

Surprisingly, it is almost always dominated by women.

Some of the shoplifters are even renting office space in the central business district ( CBD) from where they operate.

The offices are also reportedly being used as warehouses where the stolen loot is stashed before being distributed.

“Shoplifting is becoming more rampant and sophisticated. What is also worrying is the fact that there is increased connivance between shoplifters and shop workers,”said Confederation of Zimbabwe Retailers ( CZR) president Mr Denford Mutashu.

It has become so bad to the extent that some small retailers are losing as much as 3 percent of total revenue to shoplifters.

“Some shops are losing as much $500 000 per quarter and at the end of the year, the shops would have lost about 10 percent of their total revenue. In cases in which shop workers are conniving with shoplifters, the figures involved are much higher.”

Some retail shops are now understood to be budgeting as much as 4 percent of their operational costs for fighting shoplifting.

Have you ever wondered where those cheap products you purchase from street vendors or in those illegal tuckshops come from? Well, using more sophisticated tactics, shoplifters have apparently become leading ‘suppliers’ of cheap products.

They have opened for themselves a lucrative underground economy in which they supply tuckshops and vendors with stolen goods.

There are reports of retailers that have closed shop after being hit hard by shoplifters.

Even big retailers have been struggling to contain the phenomenon for years, which usually results in losses through shrinkage (loss of inventory through fraud, shoplifting, theft, et cetera).

For example, in August 2010, OK Zimbabwe, one of the country’s biggest supermarket chains, reported that it had lost about 3,5 million through shrinkage.

Uncovering the syndicates Information gathered shows that apart from part-time and amateur shoplifters, who mostly work as individuals or work in small teams, there are also career shoplifters. This reporter, by chance, interacted with a career shoplifter who went on to spill the beans, explaining in detail how her well-organised shoplifting ring works. After failing to get the goods that I wanted at a tuckshop in the high-density suburb of Dzivaresekwa Extension, I was referred to a certain house where I interacted with Sophia, a wellknown career shoplifter.

“I do not have the goods that you want right now. But if you come back in the evening, I think there will be in stock,” Sophia, who can easily pass as any other professional woman, said.

True to her word, Sophia brought the goods before opening up.

“After dropping out of school, I was introduced to shoplifting by my sister. At first we worked as a pair, but we have since incorporated three other locals,” Sophia, who counts a vehicle on the things that she acquired as a shoplifter, said.

She described her typical day in the “office”.

“It basically depends on what we would want to achieve that day. Some of the days are spent doing research, as we work on our targets, studying the positions of CCTV cameras and generally how the shop workers and security guards go about their business.”

On some of the days, she added, the gang will be busy trying to woo security guards and shop workers into their rings.

Apart from sometimes colluding with security guards, Sophia’s gang has also mastered the art of avoiding security cameras.

“Basically, shoplifting can be very simple. What we do is that some of our members will approach the shop employees and security guards and . . . distract them. As they will be talking, some of our members will be busy stuffing the stolen goods in their clothes.”

The stolen merchandise is often hidden in pockets, undergarments, baby wraps, or in bags.

With some of the gang members acting as lookouts, a shoplifter can simply pick some goods and head for the exit without paying. Other forms of shoplifting include swapping price tags, while some simply eat food items without paying.

Criminal expert Mr Brian Kashangura said the majority of shoplifting incidents go undetected and unreported.

“Some of the shop owners have a tendency of meting out instant justice on shoplifters and do not hand them over to police,” Mr Kashangura said.

Retailers in downtown Harare are using a number of strategies to reduce shoplifting.

Among some of the measures is the installation of cameras, mirrors and the employment of plain-clothes security guards.

“We noticed that clothing stores are the hardest hit and we are encouraging retailers to train employees how to detect potential shoplifters. With clothing, some shoplifters may simply put on a coat or jacket from the store and walk out wearing the item,” said Mr Mutashu.

Online sources indicate that the first documented case of shoplifting started in 16th century London, and was carried out by groups of men called “lifters”.

In 1699, the English Parliament passed The Shoplifting Act, part of the Bloody Code that punished petty crimes with death.

According to a report from Tyco Retail Solutions, the global retail industry lost an estimated US$ 34 billion in sales in 2017 to shoplifting. It is regarded as the biggest reason for loss of merchandise.

Despite beefing up of security and introducing tight security measures, it seems shoplifters are always a step or two ahead of retailers.