In the UK, a smart gang of thieves, known as the “champagne gang,” has been burgling supermarkets, snapping champagne bottles and other goodies worth at least £73,000. Their mode of operation comes to one’s mind as that of a professional team wherein every member does smart things so as to leave without leaving any trace. Let’s get down into their world and understand how they go about committing these thieving thefts.

How They Operate
The gang always works in trios, wearing Bluetooth headsets for communication with each other like secret agents. As soon as any member of the gang catches a glimpse of a security guard, they send the message to alert the others. At that point, they pretend to be normal shoppers while walking along the aisle for alcohol by pushing trolleys or carrying shopping baskets. In seemingly normal shopping behavior, they reach the shelves and pluck champagne bottles.

After getting what they want, one of the gangsters will trigger the security alarm, deliberately. Distraction allows another member of the gang to run out of the store with looted champagne. “It’s like an operation of mafia. It works as a business”, says Sarah Bird from the National Business Crime Solution (NBCS). The organization provides help to business in the fight against retail crime.

Lobbies of Supermarkets
The gang have hit most supermarkets in the UK, and their favourite ‘getaway’ is champagne. They are capitalising on a champagne shortage in Europe which occurred some eighteen months ago. It resulted from a huge increase in demand after COVID-19 and some disastrous crop failures. The prices for champagne soared while a black market emerged and proved ever more attractive to thieves.

They are well-organized, according to Sarah Bird. There are leaders who give orders and other members who do the stealing. “They travel to specific places with a shopping list of things they need to steal. They steal the goods and get paid for their work,” she says.

A Bigger Problem
The champagne gang is but one of a vast number of organized crime gangs which proliferate the UK. At present, the NBCS estimates that it is tracking over 63 gangs that have stolen in excess of £2.4 million in goods within the last five years. Whereas some of these gangs began in the UK and Ireland, many others came from Eastern Europe.

For example, the champagne gang can be traced as originating from Romania. Their cases of shoplifted goods have been recorded to 60 instances within the UK-whole range-from Gateshead to Bournemouth. NBCS first discovered them during early 2023 but have since changed tack and expanded their spree of housebreaking into stealing other forms of alcohol, including meat, depending on new demands.

Keeping with the times
As the technology of the gang develops, so do their schemes. Initially, they took away the stolen goods in trolleys. Most of the retailers, however, put special wheel technology on some of the trolleys to protect themselves against them in some spots in the shop. The gang, therefore, began using baskets and bags to take the goods away. According to Sarah Bird, “They’ve started to use baskets and bags to remove the goods instead of trolleys.”

This ability to change their tactics helps them stay ahead of security measures, making them harder to catch.

Training New Members
Although the gang often works in units of three, they sometimes add others to participate. When robbing one house in Harrogate, North Yorkshire, there were at least seven who participated. “They were showing them how to do it and then putting them to work,” says Sarah Bird. This was her chance for the new recruits to learn the ropes.

However, if they are apprehended, they don’t face punishments, really. They are from Romania mostly, and regardless of whatever may have been done, they can go back home because they were mostly arrested out of the UK. According to the NBCS, only two members had been prosecuted as of yet. If caught, they could be bailed and simply leave the UK so they avoid punishment.

The Supply Chain of Stolen Goods
It is not the thieves alone who go back to Romania but it is said that the stolen champagne and other things also leave with them. The NBCS has taken an intelligence report which claims that the gang uses automobiles for transporting stolen things from the UK to Europe. These cars may pass through customs and so the supply chain of their stolen goods. Sarah Bird says, “This becomes an effective supply chain.”. The goods are moved from the UK to the continent, sold in places such as Romania.”

Their Crime is bound to have an Effect:
The champagne gang actions are not purely stealing, but on several people. Supermarkets lose money when thieves steal from them. This may account for higher prices for the customers and even the way stores operate. Certainly, some businesses will be spending more on security measures such as hiring guards to ensure that the prevalence of theft does not cut into their profits.

Organized crime can, in turn, make people unsafe while shopping. Perhaps the presence of professional thieves instills fear in the community with the knowledge that some crimes are done on a business scale. People want to feel safe as they shop for groceries or have a day out.