Dive Summary:

• Federal government and Florida state officials have announced the creation of the first nation-wide retail task force within the United States, according to sources with Florida Today.
• The task force will be utilized to combat the growing losses in sales due to retail theft across the U.S. which totals nearly $30 billion annually.
• “We are not speaking about simple ‘onesie-twosie’ shoplifters,” says special agent Alysa D. Erichs, with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations office in Miami.

From the article:

The task force, which includes ICE, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and multiple police agencies in South Florida, will target the thieves with federal money laundering and cash smuggling laws, Erichs said. At the state level, Gov. Rick Scott signed a law this year that boosts potential sentences for organized theft to a minimum of 21 months, said Addy Villanueva, who runs the Miami FDLE office.