We’ve become all too familiar with the social media videos capturing a shoplifter running out of the store with a haul of baby formula, razor blades or detergent as retail associates look on. 

Most often, these crimes are carried out by individuals, seizing a quick opportunity for personal financial gain. Increasingly, however, retailers and policymakers say they’re fighting something bigger: organized crime groups conducting highly sophisticated operations to seize large quantities of merchandise that can be used to benefit the group, or potentially funneled to criminal and militant groups around the world.