UK stores locking up chocolate to stop theft
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READING:
Shopkeepers in the UK are having to go to extreme lengths to stop shoplifters from stealing chocolate. The candy is being locked in plastic security boxes. Customers wishing to purchase a chocolate bar must ask a member of staff to unlock the box. One leading supermarket chain said it has begun using "boxes on products which are regularly targeted" by thieves. A spokesperson for another popular store, the Co-op, told the BBC that chocolate theft was a "massive issue". He said: "In a particular shop, one individual could cost us thousands of pounds in a week." He added that some people would visit a store and "literally swipe the whole shelf" of chocolate.
Chocolate is the latest target of criminal gangs. The UK's Association of Convenience Stores said the candy is being stolen by "prolific offenders" and then sold on the black market. The Co-op spokesman said chocolate was the product most often stolen from its stores in 2024, and was only second to alcohol in 2025. Another retail association said: "Chocolate is now a target, deemed to be 'high value,' so retailers have installed anti-theft devices to prevent it from being stolen." There were 5.5 million reported incidents of shop theft in the UK last year. In London, only five per cent of these ended up in the courts. Disturbingly, there are 1,600 daily incidents of violence against shop workers.
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