Asylum seekers have been caught shoplifting designer items worth thousands of pounds from high-end shops in London.
The organised gangs hit stores such as Polo Ralph Lauren and John Lewis before returning to hotels funded by the British taxpayer.
An unnamed private security worker said asylum seekers make up 70 per cent of people shoplifting in the West End.
"The police rarely attend and the maximum we can hold them for is four hours — after that we just have to let them go. We see the same faces again and again", the man told The Sun.
The whistleblower explained that when they are detained, the shoplifters often show ID cards and admit to being asylum seekers while in other cases, he claimed they say they "came over on boats" and their address is a hotel.
He added that the area is "verging on lawless" and said police only turn up in "two out of every 10 men" detained by security staff.
A Home Office spokeswoman said: “No one claiming asylum should be breaking our laws and we will take robust action to remove anyone found to be doing so.
“Since July, 2024, we have removed over 5,000 foreign national offenders – a 14 per cent increase on the previous year.
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|The asylum seekers were spotted shoplifting at high-end stores before returning to hotels
“We are also cracking down on shoplifting across the country with 3,000 new neighbourhood police officers and PCSOs to keep our communities safe, and introducing tough new laws to tackle retail crime in our landmark Crime and Policing Bill.”
The Met Police added that officers have solved 163 per cent more shoplifting cases this year than in 2024.
It was revealed yesterday that migrants living in asylum hotels have been gambling with taxpayer-funded payment cards.
"Asylum seekers" entering Britain are handed so-called "Aspen" cards by the Home Office upon arrival.
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|It was revealed this week that migrants staying in asylum seeker hotels are gambling with taxpayer-funded payment cards
When housed in fully catered hotels, migrants are given £9.95 a week to spend on their card.
Then, if they're moved into self-catered accommodation, they are given £49.18 a week.
The cards and allowances are meant to be used to buy food, clothes or toiletries.
However, a Freedom of Information request by PoliticsHome uncovered that 6,537 asylum seekers have used the cards in "gambling settings" over the last year across the UK.
The Home Office has confirmed it has launched an investigation into the use of the cards.