The Federation of Wholesale Distributors (FWD) has called for the government to address criminals regularly targeting wholesalers and their customers.

James Bielby, chief executive of the FWD, wrote to the home secretary: “It has become commonplace for personal belongings and purchases, including bags of tobacco worth up to £5,000, to be stolen from customers in cash-and-carry car parks… Many thefts potentially endanger our members, their employees, and customers.”

The FWD added that there has been a rise in thefts of tobacco from wholesale vehicles in transit and called for more support from police and parliament. Bielby explained that the Government’s plans for a new anti-crime bill, expected to be revealed at the King’s Speech on 7 November, should specifically consider crimes at cash and carries.

Cash-and-carry crime increases

The group also claimed despite wholesalers investing in further crime prevention measures, the police are failing to pursue all cases, even when CCTV identifying a suspect is available. The FWD has set up a crime reporting system to monitor incidents and claimed crime was now one of the biggest concerns for every wholesaler it surveyed.

Bielby added: “The FWD welcomes the launch of the Retail Crime Action Plan and the government’s plans to introduce a crime bill in the King’s speech… however, it is vital for the wholesale industry to be considered and represented in these plans to tackle crime.

The warning supports recent retailer accounts of dangerous incidents at cash and carries. Nilesh Patel, owner of Premier Express Welham Green in Hatfield, told Better Retailing he lost £5,000 of tobacco purchased from Costco’s Watford depot in a robbery in August. Speaking in the week following the incident, he explained: “My wife was in the vehicle and was still recovering from being held at knifepoint during a robbery two years ago – the incident has left her feeling broken.”

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