UK police arrest seven over nationwide plan to shoplift from high-end stores

InternationalUK police arrest seven over nationwide plan to shoplift from high-end storesBy Reuters -Apr 19, 2026British police said they had arrested seven people on Sunday over what they said was a ​national coordinated plan by activists who want to ‌tax the super rich to damage and steal from high-end stores. The seven individuals, one man and six women, were detained in ​Salford in northwest England on suspicion of conspiracy to ​steal, Greater Manchester Police said. Police said the group ⁠were believed to have been training for non-direct action ​as part of a mass shoplifting campaign, intending to ​steal from high-value retail stores and supermarkets to redistribute the stolen items. “We are taking robust action to disrupt this type of organised ​criminality, and it will not be tolerated,” Assistant Chief ​Constable Steph Parker said in a statement. Take Back Power, which describes itself ‌as ⁠a civil resistance group demanding a tax on extreme wealth, said its supporters had been arrested. “The police are arresting people at generic training sessions that simply teach the ​history and principles ​of staying ⁠non-violent,” a spokesperson said in a statement. London police said in March that they had ​arrested 15 people from Take Back Power ​over alleged ⁠plans for mass shoplifting. Nine members of that group were charged on Sunday with offences involving stunts at the Ritz ⁠Hotel ​in Central London last December, when ​manure was poured on the floor, and after another incident that month at ​the Tower of London.