{"id":1981042,"date":"2023-07-24T03:18:01","date_gmt":"2023-07-24T07:18:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/mexican-drug-cartels-are-behind-the-surge-in-retail-thefts\/"},"modified":"2023-07-24T03:23:32","modified_gmt":"2023-07-24T07:23:32","slug":"mexican-drug-cartels-are-behind-the-surge-in-retail-thefts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/mexican-drug-cartels-are-behind-the-surge-in-retail-thefts\/","title":{"rendered":"Mexican cartels drive retail theft surge."},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">12<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fmexican-drug-cartels-are-behind-the-surge-in-retail-thefts%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1981042&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><h2>Mexican Cartels Expanding Global Criminal Empires with Organized\u200c Retail Crime<\/h2>\n<p>Mexican\u2064 cartels are not only involved in human\u2062 smuggling \u2062and\u2064 the fentanyl epidemic but have also expanded \u2062their <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/iran-plots-to-assassinate-ex-trump-official-biden-admin-resisting-public-indictments-due-to-iran-deal-hopes-report\/\" title=\"Iran Plots To Assassinate Ex-Trump Official, Biden Admin Resisting Public Indictments Due To Iran Deal Hopes: Report\">criminal operations<\/a> to include organized\u2063 retail \u200dcrime. These \u200ccartels are\u2064 targeting \u2064big-box stores, luxury retail\u2064 brands, and\u2062 small businesses, \u2062stealing goods and\u200c selling them online.\u2063 To launder the profits, \u200cthey are using \u200dChinese brokers.<\/p>\n<h3>A Growing Enterprise<\/h3>\n<p>According to Eric DeLaune, special agent in\u200d charge at the Department of Homeland Security&#8217;s Homeland\u200c Security Investigations, organized \u2064retail crime is a $70\u2063 billion a year \u200denterprise. These theft rings are\u2064 not just shoplifters but \u2064part of a larger criminal network that has infiltrated \u200devery\u2063 state.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>&#8220;In contrast to shoplifters, organized\u2063 theft groups engage in \u200clarge-scale\u2063 thefts which \u200brely on teams of &#8216;boosters&#8217; who steal goods from \u200cmajor retail stores, \u200b&#8217;cleaners&#8217;\u2062 who disguise the origins of stolen merchandise, &#8216;fencers&#8217; who \u2063resell products through brick-and-mortar fronts and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/mexican-drug-cartels-are-behind-the-surge-in-retail-thefts\/\" title=\"Mexican cartels drive retail theft surge.\">major e-commerce \u200cwebsites<\/a>, \u2064and professional money launderers \u2062who funnel \u200dillicit profits to criminals orchestrating schemes,&#8221; HSI\u200d wrote in a \u2063June press release.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Similar to \u200dhow Mexican \u200dcartels use Chinese brokers to funnel fentanyl profits back to Mexico,\u200d the \u2064cartels involved in retail crime send their <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/meme-lords-just-figured-out-how-to-take-back-the-billions-wall-street-made-profiting-off-lockdowns-the-washington-standard\/\" title=\"Meme Lords Just Figured Out How To Take Back The Billions Wall Street Made Profiting Off Lockdowns\">money back<\/a> to Mexico\u2064 through the same \u200bChinese money \u200claunderers.<\/p>\n<h3>A \u2064Rise in Organized Retail\u2063 Crime<\/h3>\n<p>Since the pandemic, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/cynthia-nixon-denounces-anti-shoplifting-laws-stealing-basic-necessities\/\" title=\"Cynthia Nixon Denounces Anti-Shoplifting Laws: \u2018Stealing Basic Necessities\u2019\">organized retail crime<\/a> has seen a\u200c significant increase. \u200dThis rise coincided with coronavirus lockdowns, rioting, and looting following the George Floyd protests, as well\u2064 as lenient punishments\u200c for crimes like\u2062 theft in some liberal cities. \u2063The National Retail Federation reported a 26.5%\u200c increase in organized \u2064retail crime incidents between 2020 and 2021.<\/p>\n<p>Arkansas Attorney General Tim\u2063 Griffin highlighted that the issue affects both\u200d Fortune 500 companies and small businesses\u200b in small towns. He\u200c emphasized the need \u2063to address \u200dthe cultural acceptance of criminal activity.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>&#8220;Let me tell you the difficult thing to change and establish, and that is culture,&#8221; Griffin said during a \u2063press conference. &#8220;It&#8217;s all over the \u200bcountry but particularly in some\u200c of our cities \u2014 when\u200d you \u2062have a\u200b culture that you can\u2062 violate the \u200claw, steal, burglarize, \u200cdo whatever \u200byou \u200cwant and the\u2063 feds \u200dand \u200dthe state\u200b and everybody else will \u200djust sit around and watch,\u200d you&#8217;ve got a problem. And it goes way, way beyond organized retail crime.&#8221;<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<h3>The Impact and Call for Action<\/h3>\n<p>Organized\u200d theft groups have\u200d become more brazen, committing thefts in broad daylight and resorting to violence against customers and \u2064employees who try to stop them. Videos of employees being \u2064assaulted or killed by thieves have gone viral,\u200d raising concerns among\u200d consumers.<\/p>\n<p>The National Retail Federation survey found that \u2063nearly two-thirds of consumers are worried about gang-led \u2062shoplifting in\u200d their communities, with 75% of consumers in \u2064cities expressing concern.<\/p>\n<p>The impact of organized retail crime extends beyond\u2062 the loss of tax revenue. It \u200baffects jobs and limits\u2062 choices\u200b in communities.\u2064 Sen. Chuck \u200bGrassley proposed \u200bthe Combating Organized Retail Crime Act \u200bto address\u2063 this\u200b issue,\u200c but the bill has yet \u2063to gain traction\u200d in Washington.<\/p>\n<p>However,\u200c there is\u2064 public support for action against these \u2062criminals.\u2064 Consumers believe that prosecutors,\u200b law enforcement, and the courts are\u2064 too lenient\u200b on those who\u2062 steal \u200cfrom stores.<\/p>\n<h3>A Line in the Sand<\/h3>\n<p>The recent partnership \u2064between HSI, U.S. attorneys, and industry leaders from Albertsons, Home Depot, and Walmart aims to combat \u2062organized retail crime. Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin sees \u200cthis partnership as\u200d a clear message to criminals that they\u200b will be\u2064 pursued no matter where they are.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>&#8220;What this \u200csays is we&#8217;re going to come after you no matter where\u2063 you are,&#8221; Griffin said.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Mexican cartels now extend their criminal reach worldwide, engaging in large-scale theft from big-box stores, luxury brands, and small businesses. They sell the stolen goods online and use Chinese brokers to launder the profits. These transnational cartels, responsible for massive human smuggling across the U.S.-Mexico border, continue to expand their illicit operations.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1981043,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[538],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1981042","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-washington-examiner"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1981042","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1981042"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1981042\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1981043"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1981042"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1981042"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1981042"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}