Moving carefully to avoid detection of theft (8)
I believe the answer is:
stealing
'theft' is the definition.
(synonyms)
I don't understand how the remainder of the clue works.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for stealing that I've seen before include "Illegally removing" , "Taking illegally" , "Robbing" , "Thieving" , "Theft" .)