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Shopkeepers in the UK are having to go to [extremely / extreme] lengths to stop shoplifters from stealing chocolate. The candy is being locked [in / up] plastic security boxes. Customers [wishing / wished] to purchase a chocolate bar must ask a member of staff to unlock the box. One [leading / leaving] supermarket chain said it has begun [usage / using] "boxes on products which are regularly [target / targeted]" by thieves. A spokesperson for another popular store, the Co-op, told the BBC that chocolate [theft / thief] was a "massive issue". He said: "In a particular shop, one [individual / individually] could cost us thousands of pounds [in / per] a week." He added that some people would visit a store and "literally [swipe / wipe] the whole shelf" of chocolate.

Chocolate is the latest target of [criminal / criminally] gangs. The UK's Association of Convenience Stores said the candy is being stolen [by / at] "[prolific / profile] offenders" and then sold [up / on] the black market. The Co-op spokesman said chocolate was the product [most / must] often stolen from its stores in 2024, and was only second [for / to] alcohol in 2025. Another retail association said: "Chocolate is now a target, [doomed / deemed] to be 'high value,' so retailers have installed anti-theft [devises / devices] to prevent it from being stolen." There were 5.5 million reported incidents of shop theft in the UK last year. In London, only five per cent of these [ended / ending] up in the courts. Disturbingly, there are 1,600 daily [incidence / incidents] of violence against shop workers.