Tesco installs anti-theft smoke machines at high-risk stores

The supermarket chain uses 4ft-high security devices in some shops it claims are at high risk of burglary, The Sun reported.

The machines, which are brought on to the shop floor of several branches in London after they have closed, will flood the shop floor with dense fog if its motion sensors are activated.

The devices are fitted with a CCTV camera, and a message on its front reads: “Warning: you’re being watched. Smoke screen security fog in operation.”

It is understood the machines have only been rolled out to only at-risk branches in London and are not expected to be introduced to other Tesco stores.

Its the latest measure by a supermarket to clamp down on the recent surge of shoplifting, which reached its highest level last year since records began in 2003 to over 430,000 offences recorded in England and Wales.

Retail Gazette