The Metropolitan Police have raided more than 120 shops suspected of selling stolen goods in the force’s largest ever crackdown on shoplifting.
Officers arrested 32 people and seized thousands of items, including food, make-up and electrical devices, worth hundreds of thousands of pounds.
More than 300 officers were involved in the blitz over two days this month targeting stores suspected of selling goods stolen from major retailers at discounted prices.
Nine shops have been served with closure notices as part of Operation Zoridon.
Superintendent Luke Baldock said: “Shoplifting is not a victimless crime and the gangs involved are organised and have links to drugs and violence.
“Rogue shopkeepers who trade in stolen goods are funding criminal activity and driving up costs for everyone.
“They’re keeping thieves in business at the expense of hard-working, law-abiding retailers.”
Pic: Met Police
Seven people were arrested and around 2,000 phones seized in a raid on a shop in Woolwich, south-east London.
Police body-worn footage shows officers entering the store before prying open an office door to discover “loads and loads and loads” of suspected stolen devices in cabinets.
A room hidden behind a wall panel in the basement was also found to contain more phones and other devices, while a secret compartment contained around £50,000 worth of gaming consoles.
Apple confirmed some of the phones, accessories and packaging were fake.
Officers pry open office door. Pic: Met Police
Officers find Waterstones umbrellas in off-licence. Pic: Met Police
Other footage released by police shows officers finding razor blades, Starbucks travel cups, umbrellas from Waterstones and LEGO sets being sold in an off-licence in Willesden, north-west London.
Three people were arrested and the shop was issued with a closure order from London Fire Brigade.
The Met said the force is working with businesses to crack down on the most prolific shoplifters across the capital and have solved 92% more shoplifting cases this year.
Officers on a stakeout operation in the Co-Op branch in Homerton High Street, north London, were filmed on CCTV pouncing on masked thieves as they carried out a raid in December last year.
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One of the criminals is seen being tackled in midair as he jumps from the counter before landing on a stack of beer boxes.
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said: “Shop theft is a scourge that tears at the fabric of communities.
“Growing up with parents who owned a corner shop, I know first-hand that there is nothing ‘low-level’ about these crimes.
“This government is putting 3,000 more neighbourhood police on our streets to catch these criminals and bring them to justice.”
