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Every day reports of stolen cargo cross my desk here in Chicago: thefts in Georgia, Texas, California, New Jersey, Illinois,Mexico, China and Europe; thefts of electronics, computer parts, pharmaceuticals, clothing, foodstuffs, metals, wood, tires, and any other product that can be sold or bartered on the market. The variety of commodities stolen, and the methods used to steal them is constantly amazing.

The most common MO (modus operandi) for large scale theft is the theft of an unattended trailer or container. It is an unfortunate reality that there are more trucks in the United States than there are parking lots, and certainly more trucks than there are secure parking lots. Given that fact, is it any wonder that drivers leave trucks at unsecured truck stops, retail parking areas, on the street or in vacant lots? The majority of container and trailer loads of cargo that are stolen are taken when the load is unattended. Some of these thefts are random, and are carried out by people who arrive on the scene with a bobtail (no trailer attached) tractor, hook on and drive away. Others are carefully planned, with research into the expected cargo, the route, the schedule and the driver’s habits. Some involve driver complicity.

Some thefts involve fraud. Some years ago a freight broker in Memphis posted a load of electronics on the internet looking for a trucker to take the load from Atlanta to Miami. They received a call from a man stating he was with XXX Transport, and that he had a driver nearby who could pick up the load the next morning. While XXX Transport was familiar to the broker, the man calling was not, so they obtained a phone number to call him back. When they called, a female voice answered “XXX Transport”. They asked for the man by name and were told he was on a call, but that if they could wait a moment, he would take their call. A minute went by with “muzak” playing, and he came on the line, confirmed his identity, and provided the broker with a number to which documents for the load should be faxed. They sent out the documents, the driver arrived the next morning, the shipper loaded his truck with electronics, and he left. Six hours later he called the broker and reported that he had experienced engine trouble on the highway to Miami so would be late. They advised the consignee and awaited his arrival the next day. The next day came and went and the load was never seen again. Investigators later found that the number they called for verification was a mailbox/business service office in Miami and that the woman and man had rented a phone from them for a morning. The fax number turned out to be at a motel on I75.

In 2003, a completely legitimate trucker was contacted by a major manufacturer and told to pick up a load of computers in St. Louis for delivery to Toronto. The trucker arrived the next day, picked up the load, and delivered it to a warehouse in Toronto where he was met by personnel in company uniforms. The manufacturer, which had done business with the buyer before, sent out an invoice, and received a call asking why a bill had been sent since no order had been given. Investigators discovered that documentation that exactly duplicated purchase orders from the supposed buyer had been made up in the business office of a Toronto hotel and sent to the manufacturer. The warehouse location in Toronto was found to be empty, and discarded company uniforms were found in a back room.

A large group, mostly Cuban, has operated a sophisticated theft ring out of Hialeah,Florida for a number of years now. We estimate that they have stolen over $300,000,000 in cargo in the United States since 2000. Arrests of members of this gang have been made in California, Ohio,Illinois,New Jersey, and a number of southeast states. One of their most common MO’s is used for warehouse burglaries:

First, they check out the location. The loading docks are watched (either from inside or nearby) so confirm the type of cargo going out. Patterns of loading and delivery are documented. Then, usually over a weekend, and often on holiday or special event weekends when police are busy, the alarm system at the warehouse is set off. The thieves sit back and wait for the first responders to come. After they leave, they set off the alarm again, and again they wait. Eventually, the first responders decide that the alarm is faulty and don’t come back, and the thieves enter the warehouse and spend all night emptying the cargo into trucks. In November of 2006 they stole 65,000 cell phones valued at $13,500,000 from a Chicago suburb using this technique. Particularly vulnerable are warehouses without back-up alarm systems. Investigators later found cumentation that six trucks had been stolen locally and used to haul the cargo. People using fake Cuban names, but Florida addresses, had registered in local hotels. A rental car, later noted as having been driving through the neighborhood, was found to have been rented to a Florida driver. This theft occurred over the Thanksgiving weekend. A similar theft, but during a summerfest event, had occurred not five miles away in 2005.

These are but a few of the methods being used. As industry tightens up its security, the thieves find new ways to break it. (Note: all of the above stories are based upon actual events, but the facts have been altered to protect the companies involved.) As modern industry has tightened its procedures, thieves have improved their own methods and technologies. Shippers, carriers and underwriters need to be aware, and need to keep up with methods to protect cargo in transit.

Alan F. Spear, Director
Cargo Security Loss Control
AIG Global Marine
May 1, 2007
©AIG Global Marine and Energy

A Truckload Carrier placed The ENFORCER® ABLOY® Padlock on their trailer of high value home improvment products.The ENFORCER withstood the physical attacks and prevented the thieves from entering the trailer. Ultimatley preventing the cargo theft.

View the ABLOY®  Padlocks- http://www.transportsecurity.com/products.php?id=abloy-locks

SPOTLIGHT

Covert Cargo Tracking – A Powerful Ally in the Fight Against Cargo Crime

With $15-30 Billion in annual cargo theft in the United States, cargo crime is a serious problem for business and law enforcement. The loss of just one full truck load can cost a company anywhere from $12,000 to $5 Million. The seriousness of this problem for commerce in the United States has prompted the FBI to form cargo theft task forces in major cities including Memphis, Houston, Newark, New York, San Juan, and Miami. Unit Chief Eric B. Ives, who heads the Major Theft Unit in the FBI’s Criminal Investigative Division, says “Cargo theft is our number-one priority in Major Theft.”

How Cargo Thieves Operate
Cargo thieves in the United States typically target “over-the-road” trailers with high-value freight, monitoring truck stops, freight yards, and other areas where tractor-trailers frequently are left unattended. Thieves will identify a truck carrying millions of dollars worth of inventory, follow it to a truck stop, seize it and drive away. Visible GPS antennas on trailers or tractors are quickly and easily discarded, rendering this protection measure useless.

Stolen trailers either are emptied quickly of freight, or are parked and placed under counter-surveillance to watch for police response to a tracking signal. Once the thieves are assured the tractor-trailer is not equipped with a hidden tracking device, the vehicle is moved to a designated area nearby. One common technique is for thieves to move the stolen freight into a “clean” trailer as soon as possible via a back-to-back transfer. This operation has been completed for a full 53-foot load of consumer electronics in as little as 30 minutes. Other techniques include driving the entire stolen rig to a final destination (often painting over or peeling off company identification) and using a satellite warehouse in the vicinity of the theft location for storage of stolen property.

Why Covert Cargo Tracking Defeats Criminals
Given that cargo thieves know how to disable GPS antennas on trailers and tractors, and are capable of transferring stolen cargo so quickly to “clean” trailers, manufacturers must turn to other solutions to protect their cargo from theft. A highly effective solution is covert cargo tracking. Covert cargo trackers are small battery-powered devices that use assisted GPS to transmit location data. These trackers are so small that they can be completely concealed from criminal eyes. Assisted GPS technology ensures that the covert trackers can accurately transmit location information, even though they do not have view of the open sky. Even if cargo thieves transfer the load to a different trailer, they will still be caught because the trackers reveal the location of the actual cargo they are stealing.

Real-Life Recoveries Using Covert Cargo Tracking
During a 60-day period in 2006, three separate full truck loads (FTLs)—carrying a combined cargo wholesale value of nearly $5 Million—were stolen and recovered in less than two hours each incident. Covert cargo tracking with FSNtracks led law enforcement directly to the stolen loads where criminals were apprehended and cargo was recovered. Cargo was recovered so quickly, in fact, that each of these deliveries was still made on time.

• Incident #1—A high-value load worth $1.5 Million wholesale was stolen at a truck stop along Interstate 95 in Kingsland, Georgia while the driver was taking a late-night break. Within minutes of the rig’s driver reporting the theft, the cargo’s shipper and FreightWatch began monitoring the current location and direction of the stolen load using The ENFORCER® Trax200 & FSNtracks. While the cargo thieves were switching the trailer to a different tractor in a remote area along I-95, FreightWatch’s law enforcement liaison alerted the Florida State Highway Patrol and St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office. Using the covert cargo trackers and FSNtracks, FreightWatch kept local and regional law enforcement agencies apprised of the cargo’s location—significantly narrowing the search area and making it much faster for law officers to find the perpetrators and recover the stolen cargo. The stolen cargo was recovered in just 90 minutes. It was delivered to its intended destination on schedule.
• Incident #2—A high-value load worth $1.7 Million wholesale departed an east coast distribution facility in the early evening. After approximately 3 hours on the road, the driver stopped to eat at a truck stop in Spartanburg, South Carolina, leaving the load unattended. A short time later, the driver discovered his tractor and trailer had been stolen, and alerted the shipper. Within minutes FreightWatch personnel began tracking the stolen cargo using FSNtracks, and pinpointed its location at an intersection in Laurens County, South Carolina. Laurens County deputies rushed to the designated intersection but could not find the trailer. Using The ENFORCER® FSNtrack’s satellite view, FreightWatch was able to determine that the trailer was hidden behind a building at the intersection, and quickly redirected deputies to it. The entire stolen load was recovered in its original trailer, and it was delivered on time to the consignee. FSNtracks also was used to recover the abandoned tractor: a review of FSNtracks history indicated that the tractor had stopped for several minutes at a location a short distance from the truck stop. When law enforcement checked that location they found the abandoned tractor.
• Incident #3—A high-value load worth $1.7 Million wholesale departed an east coast distribution facility at midday. The trailer was taken to the trucking company’s local terminal for pickup by long-haul team drivers. Nearly five hours later, the long-haul drivers arrived at the local terminal to find that the trailer was missing. Within minutes the shipper and FreightWatch personnel were advised of the theft, and began tracking the stolen cargo using The ENFORCER® Trax 200 & FSNtracks. FSNtracks history indicated that the load had been stolen from the local terminal an hour after it arrived there, and was presently at a location in York, South Carolina. The York Police Department responded to the location and discovered the stolen trailer; the thieves had painted over the trucking company’s name and logos to disguise the trailer. Witnesses who observed the thieves painting the trailer directed police to a nearby tractor where they arrested two subjects hiding in the sleeper. Police also located the painting equipment in the tractor along with blank Bills of Lading and various seals. Due to the covert tracking of The ENFORCER® Trax 200 FSNtracks and quick law enforcement response, the entire stolen load was recovered and redirected to make an on-time delivery.

Transport Security, Inc. Waconia, MN received a call from an owner operator of  Truckload Trucking Company explaining how the ENFORCER® Air Cuff® Lock prevented his truck & trailer from being stolen. The driver wrote a letter explaining the attempted theft and how the Air Cuff® Lock thwarted the would be thief………

Letter from Owner Operator for a Truckload Trucking Company-Bronx, New York

Dear Members of Transport Security,  

How are you and your so concerned staff?  It gives me great pleasure to tell you I still own and have in my possession my 1999 model 379 Peterbilt and 1997 Wabash trailer thanks to your ENFORCER® Air Cuff® Lock.  On February 22, 2007, late in the evening, I arrived safely in New York after traveling over 4 hours from my last pick-up of perishable goods, a routine I have done for the past eight years.  I left my tractor and trailer parked in my regular spot.   On February 23rd at or around 12:00 am midnight, I left my tractor and trailer parked.  I fed my dogs and had a refreshing clothing change.  I returned to my equipment around 3:30 am.  I opened the driver’s door to notice glass on my floor near the pedals.  I looked to find the source of the broken glass, but had no success.  I attempted to put the keys in the ignition but to my surprise, the ignition hole was bare.  I looked even closer and saw that my dashboard was removed enough for the culprit to remove the ignition switch for their wiring to start the vehicle. I presume the vehicle was started but to release the air, I guess they changed their mind and left after meeting “Mr. Air Cuff”.  I then noticed my passenger air vent window was broken giving the culprit entrance.  They did not touch any of my belongings, which makes me moved to announce the savings.  The $70 equipment saved me and my family.  I thank the staff and all members of Transport Security for being here to support us with deterrents for these upcoming freeloaders. Thank you.

New Assisted-GPS Covert Tracker Snares Unsuspecting Thieves

February28, 2007

Thieves should think twice before hi-jacking a trailer carrying The ENFORCER® Trax 200 new covert cargo trackers. When Orestes Miribal stole a trailer carrying $1.5 million in cigarettes along Interstate 95 in St. Johns County, Georgia, he never imagined he’d get caught 90 minutes later.* He even took the extra precaution of switching the stolen trailer to a different tractor to elude law enforcement recovery efforts. However, what Miribal did not know was that his purloined cargo also included special covert tracking units monitored by The ENFORCER® Tracking Service. Within minutes of the rig’s driver reporting the theft—which occurred during a late night break at a truck stop—the cargo’s shipper began monitoring the current location and direction of the stolen load using ENFORCER® Trax 200  web-based tracking service that provides up-to-the-minute location information. While Miribal and his accomplices were switching the trailer to a different tractor in a remote area along IH-95, Using the latest Assisted-GPS tracking technology embedded in the cigarette cargo itself The ENFORCER® Trax 200 kept an eye on the location of the cargo—significantly narrowing the search area and making it much faster for law officers to find the perpetrator and recover the stolen cargo. In fact, the entire stolen load was recovered so quickly it was still delivered on time to its intended destination.

 “This is a good example of technology paying big dividends for us,” saidSheriff David Shoar of the St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office.**

The ENFORCER® Tracking Service is a web-based service that electronically monitors high-value products while they are being delivered to distributors and resellers. The ENFORCER® Trax 200  solution makes driver freight security compliance monitoring and covert cargo tracking affordable by replacing human resources with low cost, portable, electronic tracking devices.  

References
* Facts taken from “Driver takes a break, hijacker takes his truck”, The Times-Union, written by

About Transport Security, Inc.

Transport Security, Inc. has been a leader in providing High Security Solutions for the transportation supply chain for over 25 years. The ENFORCER® Line of Security products include King Pin Locks, Air Cuff® Locks, Rear Door Trailer Locks, C-TPAT Security Seals and the full line of ABLOY® Padlocks.  For More Information:
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