shopliftingrings
nounUK /ˈʃɒplɪftɪŋ rɪŋz/
US /ˈʃɑːplɪftɪŋ rɪŋz/
Groups of people who work together to steal things from stores.
The police caught two shopliftingrings operating in the same mall.
OTHER MEANINGS
2. Organized groups that steal merchandise from shops and resell it.
Investigators linked the shopliftingrings to a black-market resale operation.
3. Coordinated teams that distract store staff while stealing goods.
The shopliftingrings used children to distract the cashiers.
4. Criminal networks that target multiple stores in a region.
Several shopliftingrings have hit pharmacies across the county this month.