![Pinterest](https://pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?url=https://uknews.evprotec.com/our-once-thriving-town-is-now-being-ruined-by-tiktok-obsessed-gangs-thieves/&media=https://uknews.evprotec.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/newspress-collage-23362468-1691239471479.jpg&description=LIVING HELL Published : 13:48, 5 Aug 2023 Updated : 13:48, 5 Aug 2023 A TOWN is under siege from TikTok obsessed gangs of shoplifters who are prepared to steal items that are trending on social media. Stealing from shops has risen sharply over recent years as rising prices force some unscrupulous customers to break the law to get what they want. 3 Suleiman Hekimi said some shoplifters did not care about CCTV cameras Credit: Manchester Evening NewsManchester Evening News 3 Mobile phone shop owner Mohammed Khalid Credit: Manchester Evening NewsManchester Evening News 3 Shoplifting is now rife in Bolton town centre Credit: Manchester Evening NewsManchester Evening News The rising crime hits independent traders hard and can put them out of business. But now business owners in Bolton, Greater Manchester, have claimed some schoolkids were targeting items that were trending on TikTok. Suleiman Hekimi who owns Diva in the town centre has noticed that items being stolen his shop tended to be trending on TikTok. Speaking to the Manchester Evening News he said: "Whatever has blown up on TikTok are the things that schoolchildren steal. 'The other day, rosemary oil was popular on TikTok and all the schoolchildren were nicking it. 'The oil is £10 each, so if they take 10, that's £100. Sometimes, when they take a wig, that's £100 just on its own. 'It's not just children, it's women too. There isn't an age limit. It's everybody.' Mohammed Khalid, manager of phone shop Mobile 2K, said he was prepared to lock customers inside if he suspected they were intent on stealing. He said: "It's like Jurassic Park and Jeremy Kyle outside. 'You never know when they're going to come inside. 'It can get a bit crazy. If we get people who we think are going to steal, we just lock them in for five minutes. 'When you know someone is trying to distract you and you're on your own, you can use it as a fall back.' 'We're have to use [the lock] once or twice, then they've realised it's locked and there's){kind=link}
A TOWN is under siege from TikTok obsessed gangs of shoplifters who are prepared to steal items that are trending on social media.
Stealing from shops has risen sharply over recent years as rising prices force some unscrupulous customers to break the law to get what they want.
The rising crime hits independent traders hard and can put them out of business.
But now business owners in Bolton, Greater Manchester, have claimed some schoolkids were targeting items that were trending on TikTok.
Suleiman Hekimi who owns Diva in the town centre has noticed that items being stolen his shop tended to be trending on TikTok.