Eight alleged US thieves indicted for stealing $5m worth of cheese, beef and cigarettes

‘Retail theft ring’ stole goods from logistics sites in Pennsylvania, Virginia and New Jersey and sold them in New York, officials say

Eight people were indicted this week in New York in connection with what prosecutors describe as a “wide-ranging retail theft ring” that stole nearly $5m worth of goods – from steaks to cheeses to copper wiring and cigarettes.

The Manhattan district attorney’s office announced charges against the eight individuals on Wednesday, accusing them of “conspiring to impersonate shipping carriers in a wide-ranging retail theft ring throughout the north-east”.