Is the Economic Climate Fuelling ‘Inside Job’ Crimes?

Cost of living pressures are believed to be one of the key drivers of the increase in cargo thefts with an ‘Internal’ M.O. in the Europe, Middle East & Africa region, according to data from the TAPA EMEA Intelligence System (TIS). 

Cases involving the classic ‘inside job’ rose 323.2% in EMEA in 2022 year-over-year with 405 ‘Internal’ M.O.  incidents recorded by the Association, up from 56 in 2021. In the first seven months of this year, another 111 cargo losses or attempted thefts were reported from supply chains in this TIS crime category.

Data for the period between January 2022-July 2023 shows the 516 ‘Internal’ M.O. incidents produced a combined loss of €21,305,878 for the 65.6% of crimes stating a value, averaging €62,849. Of these, TAPA EMEA recorded 34 major losses of goods worth €100K or more, which averaged €447,577, and included:

• €5,535,000 – goods stolen from a supply chain in Vojvodina, Serbia
• €1,000,000 – Saint-Michel-sur-Orge, France
• €1,000,000 – Podgorica, Montenegro
• €720,000 – Bedford, United Kingdom
• €702,261 – Sverdlovsk, Russia
• €675,497 – Valladolid, Spain
• €524,911 – Ussuriysk, Russia
• €470,637 – Moscow, Russia
• €375,000 – Macerata, Italy
• €300,320 – Plymouth, UK

While most goods targeted in these incidents are not reported, regular losses have been recorded over this period for products such as food and drink, phones, metal, fuel, and tools and building materials. 

Cargo thefts based on inside information vary from small losses of individual or low volume items to crimes involving goods worth six figures or more, which are likely to often involve elements of organised crime. In 2023, examples of incidents reported to TIS also include:

• Several workers arrested at a facility in Spain for stealing engine parts
• Siphoning of fuel from an Origin Facility in Sevilla, Spain, for sale on the black market
• The arrest of an employee who stole €50,000 of products over two months from an Origin Facility in Sibiu, Romania
• Three security guards arrested after 2,000 boxes of meat were stolen from a warehouse in Viana, Portugal
• 25 pairs of branded footwear stolen from a facility in Gelderland in the Netherlands
• An employee arrested for the theft of various high-tech goods, such as phones, tablets, and smartwatches, in Sesto Fiorentino, Italy, which the suspect was selling online.

‘Internal’ M.O. crimes were recorded in 40 countries in EMEA during this timescale, with 8 countries accounting for 437 or nearly 85% of crimes:

• Russia – 268 incidents
• Germany – 51
• United Kingdom – 31
• Italy – 29
• Spain – 20
• Poland – 16
• France and South Africa – both 11

This latest TIS data reflects concerns raised in the 2022 Cargo Theft Report produced by TT Club, TAPA EMEA, and BSI Connect SCREEN Intelligence, which, referring to the cost-of-living crisis in many countries, stated: “Consumers tend to buy cheaper goods as the cost of goods becomes inflated. So, beyond the loss of purchasing power, other consequences of inflation include shadow economies. This process is also known as “trading down” and oftentimes incentivises a black market, or a demand for illicit goods at a cheaper price. This demand for illicit goods or stolen goods, in turn, incentivises property crimes like burglary, theft, and robbery.”