The chocolate aisle of a Cambridgeshire supermarket has security measures like Perspex boxes, plastic screens, and security tags on chocolate bars. 50) are secured with these measures in a Tesco branch outside Cambridge city centre. In some inner-city locations, confectionery shelves are fitted with plastic surrounds and buttons to alert staff with keys.
Shop owners insist these security measures are necessary due to a shoplifting epidemic sweeping the nation. According to the Association of Convenience Stores, confectionery is the second-most targeted product stolen from retailers, after alcohol. There have been reports of chocolate shoplifting in the past 12 months, including £134,000 of Kinder Buenos stolen in Lancashire, 200,000 Cadbury's Crème Eggs taken in Telford, and thousands of boxes of Ferrero Rocher found in a vehicle in Essex.
Wiltshire Police shared a video of a man dragging an entire shelf of chocolate out of a shop in December. West Midlands Police recently jailed a thief who swiped trays of chocolate into his rucksack and smashed a window to escape. Investigations by the Daily Mail have revealed links between chocolate shoplifting and organised criminal gangs operating in Britain and Eastern Europe, particularly Romania.
These gangs make huge profits from paying street criminals to steal chocolate to order. A police source in Romania confirmed that the country's general inspectorate was working closely with British officers in an operation to trace thieves across borders. Cocoa prices have risen 15% in the last year, making chocolate attractive to criminals looking to sell it on at a lower price.
Some household chocolate brands have risen in price by between 50p and 80p per bar, increasing resale margins for stolen goods. To combat theft, supermarkets in London are increasingly using security boxes to lock chocolate in theft-proof containers.