Christmas Shopping Starts Early for Cargo Thieves as October Sees €15.4m in Supply Chain Thefts 

Christmas is a costly time of year and an extra few Euros made or saved are always a welcome addition to the seasonal budget.

Consequently, it’s also a prime time for crime. 

October 2023 data, based on cargo thefts reported to the TAPA EMEA Intelligence System (TIS) in the Europe, Middle East & Africa (EMEA) region suggests criminals have already started their ‘shopping,’ indicating supply chain security professionals are in for a busy Christmas period.

In just the 31 days of October, TIS recorded 671 cargo crimes in 27 countries – a 54.7% annual increase in thefts from facilities and modes of transport compared to the corresponding 433 incidents reported in Vigilant for October 2022. 

The 33% of these incidents with an identifiable value cost businesses a loss of more than €15.4 million – that’s an average of €499,660 for every day of last month. This total included 35 major crimes, each with a value of €100K or more, which produced a total loss of €11,744,197 and an average loss of €335,548.

Germany was the country with the highest rate of cargo crimes, partly due to it being the focal point for fuel thefts from commercial vehicles in Europe. It recorded 205 thefts from supply chains in the space of 31 days, well ahead of seven other countries with double-digit rates of incidents:

• South Africa – 78 cargo crimes recorded in October
• Italy – 72
• France – 71
• United Kingdom – 71
• Spain – 63
• Sweden – 38
• Poland – 15

Over 62% of cargo losses reported to TAPA EMEA in October did not specify the types of products targeted by thieves. 

Of the 18 TIS product categories recording known cargo crimes, seven suffered 10 or more thefts, led by the 97 Fuel Thefts in EMEA, nearly 15% of all incidents added to the TIS database in the month.

The other categories in this group were:

• Cash – 24 cargo losses
• Metal – 20
• Tools/Building Materials – 18
• Food & Drink – 15
• No Load (Theft of truck and/or trailer) – 15 
• Miscellaneous Electronics – 12

The highest value crime recorded by TIS in October involved a €2,500,000 loss in France, although Vigilant is unable to share further information. It was one of 26 major crimes with a total loss value of €10,199,848 – or an average of €389,224 – than cannot be openly reported in this publication, although TAPA EMEA members can login to the TIS database using their MyTAPA access to see the information provided on all these thefts. Products targeted included cosmetics, auto parts, food and drink, tobacco, cash, and vehicles with no loads onboard.

Major crimes Vigilant is authorised to report included:

• €398,400 – a shipment of miscellaneous goods stolen following a violent attach on an Origin Facility in Tshwane in South Africa’s Gauteng province on 10 October.
• €301,710 – the theft of phones and copper cable from an Origin Facility in Ermelo, Gelderland, in the Netherlands, on 11 October.
• €170,000 – on the same day, 11 October, four suspects were also arrested in connected with the theft of copper cable in Cher, Centre-Val de Loire in France.
• €157,000 – two thefts were recorded in a canning factory Origin Facility on 19 October in the town of Saint-Pierre-Lefeuille in south-western France. 
• €149,840 – TIS recorded two thefts of tyres – potentially the same incident reported by separate entities – on 3 October. In the second incident in Gqeberha in Eastern Cape, two suspects were arrested.
• €100,537- two armed men attacked a truck driver and hijacked his vehicle in the South African province of Mpumalanga on 16 October. The goods taken were not identified. 
• €100,000 – offenders gained forced access to an Origin Facility in Bad Bentheim in Lower Saxony, Germany, on the first day of the month, and stole a truck from the premises.
• €100,000 – clothing, jewellery, and household items were stolen in a raid on an Origin Facility in Gjakova in Albania on 24 October. 

In the €50,000-€100,000 value category, TIS received a further 28 crime reports, accounting for €1,864,858 of the monthly total and averaging a value of €66,602 per incident. These crimes included:

• €99,297 – a container load of cosmetics and hygiene products stolen from an Authorised 3^rd Party Facility in Hull, United Kingdom, on 20 October. 
• €85,953 – 39 monitors stolen from a secure truck parking in Alfeld, Germany, on 25 October. 
• €70,554 – a shipment of car tyres stolen in a case on deception from an unclassified parking location in Sofia, Bulgaria, on 9 October.
• €63,107 – the theft of a vehicle transporting cash while it was en route in Durban, South Africa, on 3 October.  
• €50,000 – on 2 October, thieves stole copper cables from an Origin Facility in Sulingen, Lower Saxony.

Other products targeted in the value range included furniture/household appliances, e-bicycles, and tools/building materials.

In other crimes recorded during the month, incidents included:  

• 114 televisions stolen from a parking location in Tilburg, North Brabant, in the Netherlands on 3 October. The recorded loss value was €48,035. 
• 47 TVs stolen from a secure parking site in Alfeld in Germany on 18 October worth €35,027.
• Designer bags taken from a truck in an unclassified parking in Hauts-de-France on 6 October. A suspect was later arrested in connection to this theft, which recorded a loss value of €35,000.
• 14 pallets of catalytic converters stolen from a truck in an unsecured parking place in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, on 26 October.
• 74 tonnes of olives stolen from an Origin Facility in Seville, Spain, which led to 12 arrests on 6 October.

Cash-in-transit vehicles remained a prime target for criminals in South Africa:

• Police are looking for 15 suspects after a CIT vehicle was attacked and blown up in the KwaMashu township in Durban.
• Offenders also ‘bombed’ a truck carrying cash on the N12 in Mondeor, Johannesburg. 
• Police shot and killed four suspects involved in another CIT ambush in Mwakau, Gauteng province, on 30 October.

Fuel thefts continued to be a major cause of disruption for transport operators, with the damage and cost of repair – as well as vehicle downtime – often causing a bigger loss than the value of the fuel stolen. Police in Limoges, France, also recovered stolen fuel cards following arrests.

TAPA EMEA members can find more October 2023 incident intelligence by visiting the TIS database.