Asylum seeker shoplifting gangs target designer stores
Security bosses say they are 'helpless' to stop the thefts, which are carried out using tin foil-lined bags which don't set off shop alarms.
The 'brazen' thieves were seen stealing from Liberty London, Gucci, Prada and Louis Vuitton, before returning to taxpayer-funded hotels.
Concerns were raised by a whistleblower, who told The Sun that 70 per cent of shoplifters in the 'verging on lawless' West End were asylum seekers.
' The police rarely attend and the maximum we can hold them for is four hours – after that we just have to let them go,' he said.
'We see the same faces again and again.'
The private security worker said that when detained, the migrants show ID cards, and little can be done after revealing they are asylum seekers.
He added that the thieves work in pairs or groups, with one person distracting or keeping watch while the other swipes items.
'The situation is getting out of control,' he continued. 'We are helpless and cannot tackle the sheer numbers flooding the streets.
'For me and my team, the men are easy to spot because they constantly reoffend.
'Once we do detain them, that just means their mates are even busier. They are often violent as well.
'Sometimes they won't have any ID but they tell us they came over on the boats and their address is the Holiday Inn or the Barbican.'
'Slap in the face to British people'
It is thought that the stolen goods are used to pay off debts to the gangs who organise crossings over the Channel.
Robert Jenrick, the shadow justice secretary, told The Sun: 'It is a slap in the face to British people for illegal migrants to break into the UK then engage in brazen criminality. They need to be deported immediately.
'The small boats are fuelling crime and making the public less safe. It's a national security emergency and Keir Starmer should treat it as one.'
Sir John Hayes, a former Tory security minister, said it showed Britain was importing criminals 'in droves' and called on the Home Office to immediately investigate.
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