$800,000 in booze has been stolen from Virginia ABC stores this year — tequila is the favorite
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More than $800,000 worth of booze was stolen from Virginia ABC stores in the first six months of the year, a 50% increase over the same period last year.
Why it matters: Rising liquor theft could make it harder for all Virginians to buy booze.
The big picture: Shoplifting at state-run ABC stores has been inching up over the past two years, according to WRIC, which first reported the figures.
- Alexandria saw a more than 200% increase in stolen liquor last year over 2022, ALXnow reported. Portsmouth and Virginia Beach had significant increases as well, officials told WTKR.
- In Richmond, theft from ABC stores went from contributing to rising crime in the city in 2023 to accounting for 51% of all shoplifting cases for the first half of this year.
Yes, but: Context is key, ABC spokesperson Pat Kane tells Axios.
- The $808,371 in liquor theft is only a fraction of the $695.2 million in liquor sales from folks who actually paid for in the first half of 2024.
Zoom in: Much of the shoplifting was concentrated at specific stores or regions, according to data Virginia ABC shared with Axios.
- In Richmond, 165 of the 477 ABC shoplifting incidents in the first half of the year were at just two local stores: 1217 W. Broad St. by VCU and 2525 E. Main St. in Shockoe Bottom.
- One Norfolk store was robbed 115 times, while a Manassas shop lost 228 bottles in one go.
- And last month, ABC law enforcement and local police busted a four-person NoVa booze theft ring linked to 26 ABC store thefts and over $145,000 in stolen hooch. That crew contributed to a "significant portion of the increase year-over-year," Kane says.
What they're stealing: An Axios review of the 14,326 bottles of booze pilfered this year shows:
- With 1,377 bottles, the $39.99 bottle of Hennessy VS was the single most shoplifted item.
- 593 bottles of Don Julio Tequila Blanco landed it the No. 2 spot.
- 3,971 bottles of tequila (across 132 different brands) made it the most popular liquor among thieves.
- The $559.99 bottle of Clase Azul Tequila Añejo was the most expensive liquor stolen, while an embarrassing variety of 99-cent fruit flavored airplane bottles were the least.
Worth noting: In some cases, suspected thieves are simply walking out the door with their stolen hooch, as was the case with the aforementioned NoVa crew thefts.
- There, the alleged crew simply loaded up carts, walked out of the store and drove away before police arrived.
- In a Portsmouth ABC store this year, an alleged shoplifter stuffed bottles down his pants and loudly clanked out the door while other shoppers filmed and heckled him.
- Staffers are trained not to engage and to work with law enforcement, Kane says. Adding, "no product in our stores is worth risking the safety of our team members and customers."
What they're doing: In response to the increase in theft, ABC is making security enhancements at stores, including to its camera systems, and doing more frequent inventories.
- It's also recently converted some of its more frequently robbed stores — including two Portsmouth and the VCU store — to counter service, meaning all the liquor is behind a counter and customers have to ask a staffer to pull it.
- That's a reversal from 2022 when ABC said it was working to phase out these types of stores, Virginia Mercury reported.