- A group of brazen thieves walked away from a Best Buy with armfuls of PlayStation 5s without being challenged
- Five thieves walked into the store and immediately headed towards the display of Sony video game consoles near the front.
- The criminals were seen stooping to the exhibition area and picking up 14 PlayStations worth $7,000
A group of brazen thieves walked away from a Best Buy with armfuls of PlayStation 5s without being challenged.
Video captured the moment the criminals walked into the store and immediately headed towards the display of Sony consoles at the front. The video has been viewed more than 200,000 times on social media platform X.
The five thieves were seen leaning into the exhibit area and picking up 14 PlayStations worth a total of $7,000.
But BestBuy employees could do little to prevent the theft and only recorded their faces as the brazen thieves walked out of the store.
A group of brazen thieves walked away from a Best Buy with armfuls of PlayStation 5s without being challenged
The criminals entered the store and immediately headed towards the display of Sony consoles at the front
The clip shows the group crouching where the PlayStation 5 displays were and grabbing the machines. One man is seen holding a console in each arm, while the thief carries a stack of three in front of him.
Another thief is seen picking up a third PlayStation, while a man kneeling on the ground organizes a pile to run out of the store.
The suspects quickly get up and walk out the door in full view of the Best Buy employees who can only watch and stare.
A woman who is part of the crew of thieves is the last to follow as she struggles to sort her stack of PlayStations.
She is seen carrying three in her arms, as well as a bag on her shoulder containing another console.
The woman walks past a worker who moves out of the way on his way to the exit.
“Man, what the fuck is wrong with this s***,” the person recording can be heard saying. 'Thats crazy.'
It is not clear at which BestBuy store the incident occurred and DailyMail.com has contacted the electronics store for comment.
Shoplifting has reached unprecedented levels across America, with brazen thieves strolling out of stores with their arms full of stolen goods.
The National Retail Federation said the scourge — which worsened during the pandemic — will cost the industry nearly $100 billion in 2022.
A video was made of the incident and posted to the social media platform X on Tuesday and has been viewed more than 200,000 times
The thieves quickly get up and walk out the door in full view of the Best Buy employees who can only watch and stare
David Johnston, who represents the organisation, said: 'These acts are happening more openly and thieves have become bolder and more aggressive in stealing merchandise.
The shoplifting capital of the country is Los Angeles, which had the highest rate of “organized retail crime” for the fifth consecutive year in 2022.
The study includes insights from 177 brands that accounted for $1.6 trillion in annual U.S. sales in 2022.
San Francisco came in second and was followed by Houston, New York City, Seattle and Atlanta.
Sacramento and Chicago tied for seventh place. The top ten was completed by Denver, Miami and Albuquerque, all tied.
Retailers have always been vulnerable to shoplifting, but recently there has been a rise in coordinated and organized robberies in stores.
The report confirms that the trend is largely driven by large urban areas. The top five locations are also Democratic-led areas.
It has led to a drastic backlash from stores, with companies like Target and CVS locking down their products to deter shoplifters.