Hot target for criminal syndicates

Daigou or criminal? Police crackdown on baby formula theft syndicates

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Baby formula is the new hot target for criminal syndicates

Daigou or criminal? Police crackdown on baby formula theft syndicates

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There is a surprising new currency being traded on the black market by crime syndicates – and no, it’s not that powder you’d expect.
Baby formula is hot property among criminal networks, and authorities across Australia are grappling with how to stop the crooks from cashing in on the product that fetches huge profits in China.
The problem has become so common that retailers are now keeping the tins locked up behind the shop counter alongside cigarettes (the other lucrative product for gangs).

In Melbourne this month, staff at a Coles supermarket caught a man brazenly walking out of the shop with a trolley full of hundreds of stolen tins.
In the biggest formula burglary Victoria has seen, a gang of five thieves was charged last week after allegedly targeting more than 40 sites in one month.
The criminal gangs hit supermarkets and warehouses, sometimes brazenly in the middle of the day, stocking up on as many tins as they can before making a run for it.
They then send the formula to China where it can fetch more than $100 for each one.

Daigou or criminal? Police crackdown on baby formula theft syndicates

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One of the men charged in the Victorian ring, Jaswinder Singh, 31, from St Albans, joined the gang in an attempt to fund his heroin addiction, according to The Herald Sun.
Syndicates are also working out of Sydney, where two people were arrested in June when police raided a storage container and found $25,000 worth of stolen products, including popular brands of the milk powder.
And as of April, eight people were charged after another crime ring allegedly stole 4000 tins of formula from stores across Sydney.


Daigou or criminal? Police crackdown on baby formula theft syndicates

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In Victoria, police said they were working with retailers to curb the number of thefts.
“Police are aware that international demands can make it an attractive commodity for criminal entities,” spokeswoman Belinda Batty said.
“We are committed to holding offenders to account for these crimes and have made a number of arrests following thefts from supermarkets and pharmacies across Melbourne.”
One superviser at Coles in Melbourne told The New Daily they had moved their baby formula behind the counter after one man walked out with a trolley full.
“One guy put 300 to 400 in a trolley and just walked out. Thankfully they caught him,” she said.
“We do have some in the aisles. They’re security tagged but some aren’t, so we’ve put them there (behind the counter).”
An independent pharmacy in Melbourne CBD said they moved their stock close to the counter after hearing about the thefts.
“We’ve read about it and that’s why we keep them here,” the owner said pointing to the display a metre away from the counter.”


https://thenewdaily.com.au/news/2019/08/02/china-baby-formula/