Cops crack down on shoplifting as capital hit

MORE than 230 people have been arrested in a crackdown on shoplifting gangs in Scotland's capital city - after Edinburgh was identified as one of the nation's top three retail crime hotspots.

- BY MARY WRIGHT

Police Scotland's Retail Crime Taskforce is targeting Edinburgh, Glasgow and Lanarkshire as part of a £3million fightback amid the country’s “skyrocketing” shoplifting epidemic.

A total of 234 charges have been brought against retail crime offenders since April, relating to an estimated £25,000 of stolen goods in Edinburgh alone.

Police Scotland data shows there were 22,806 shoplifting crimes between April 1 and September 30 - a rise of 3605 or 18.8 per cent - and up 60.5 per cent on the five-year average.