341 New Cargo Thefts and Losses 6 mio Across 30 Countries in May
Advancements in security technology and fast reporting of incidents to local police authorities are two of the most effective and contributing factors to preventing cargo crime or recovering goods stolen from supply chains.
A good example of this was a theft of 80 cartons of men’s clothing in Verona, Italy, on 23 May by a criminal network trafficking in stolen goods. The suspects deactivated security cameras at an Origin Facility in the northern Italian city before forcing entry into the building and taking the keys to a van, which they loaded with the goods, valued at €200,000.
However, this led to the arrests of three Romanian men in the city later the same day and the recovery of the van, which was located using the vehicle’s satellite anti-theft system. Unfortunately, there was no trace of the stolen products. But, once again, GPS technology and video surveillance images helped Carabinieri officers identify suspicious activity at garages close to where the van was found, where they interrupted the three men loading the goods into another vehicle.
In the ongoing investigation, it is hoped that phones recovered from the stolen van will help to identify other accomplices linked to this crime.
Overall, in May, the TAPA EMEA Intelligence System (TIS) received reports of 341 cargo thefts in 30 countries across the Europe Middle East & Africa region. The 71 or 20.8% of these sharing a financial loss figure produced a combined total of €5,969,765, or an average of €84,081 per incident.
The daily loss for cargo crimes reported to the TIS database in May was €192,573.
The month saw a total of 10 major losses of €100K or more, averaging €508,753. This included the highest single theft of goods worth €2 million from a trailer in Laon in northern France on 16 May. The type of goods stolen was not recorded. Similarly, the second biggest loss during the month of €1,960,000 on 5 May did not share product information on the items stolen from a facility in Haifa, Israel.
Other major incidents in May included:
- €200,000 – cash stolen from an Origin Facility in Thiva, Greece, on 27 May
- €115,000 – another loss of unspecified goods, this time in Birin, Nigeria, on 22 May
- €112,533 – thieves also took miscellaneous goods on 8 May from a vehicle in Lindenholzhausen, Germany.
- €100,000 – a shipment of clothing was taken from a Retail Store in Zaragoza, Spain, on 4 May.
- €100,000 – on 5 May, offenders looted a truck loaded with electronics products at a motorway parking in Schmidgaden in the German state of Bavaria.
- €100,000 – vehicle parts were stolen from a semi-trailer on 7 May while it was parked at a motorway rest area on the A93 in Lindenlohe, also in Bavaria.
The nine cargo thefts of goods with a value of between €50,000 and €100,000, included:
- €65,000 – electrical equipment stolen from a Retail Store in Serres, Greece, on 26 May. Two people were later arrested.
- €60,000 – metal taken from an Origin Facility in Monte san Savino, Tuscany, Italy, on 9 May
- €60,000 – phones, computer tablets, and smartwatches were stolen on 28 May from a Retail Store in Santiago de Compostela in Spain.
- €50,000 – the theft of copper from an Origin Facility in Fontanafredda, Italy, on 7 May.
- €50,000 – 30 bicycles were stolen from a Retail Store in Magenta in Italy’s Lombardy region on 17 May.
- €50,000 – a shipment of food was taken in a Deceptive Stop crime in Ašlesin, Soumagne, Belgium, on 27 May.
On 8 May, police in Turin, Italy, also arrested three truck drivers in connection to the thefts of miscellaneous goods destined for supermarkets.
Nine countries recorded double-digit rates of recorded cargo thefts in the TIS database in May: Germany (69 incidents), Italy (62), United Kingdom (38), Spain (35), Netherlands (20), South Africa (19), France (18), and Greece (12).
For more insights into cargo crime reports in May, login to TIS.
