Members of the Carlisle Crime Reduction Partnership carried out an operation yesterday (3 Aug), acting upon intelligence gathered over the previous week.
The partnership targeted an Irish traveller group that had set up a temporary camp in Carlisle.
A spokesperson said:
"This group have been responsible for high value trolley push outs from supermarkets and high value thefts from retailers.
"Our officers worked covertly in unmarked cars and plain clothes tracking them to various locations around the city.
"They were stopped in one supermarket after committing a theft but quickly became aggressive towards our team, they were let go for fears of safety to the stores customers, staff and security team.
"All property was recovered and all information has been passed to the police to continue their ongoing investigation.
"Please stay alert. Retailers can report incidents through 111 or if a crime is in progress, 999.
"We advise not to attempt to detain unless specifically trained to do so."
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