CARGO Theft News: Indiana: (Video)Floyd Co. thieves busted for $400,000 in stolen sneakers3/23/2015
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By James Jaillet @trucknewsJJ CargoNet’s heat map of cargo theft activity from 2014. Each dot represents a theft. Just shy of $90 million in cargo was stolen in 2014 in truck-trailer cargo theft incidents, according to a report released this month by CargoNet. Nearly half of that was high-value electronics loads, which averaged $549,539 in stolen goods per theft incident and totaled $42 million in the year. CargoNet’s figures are similar to those also released this month by FreightWatch International, with both reporting a small drop in the number of overall incidents but a sizable jump in the average loss value per incident. The number of incidents in the year fell to 844, CargoNet reports, down from 2013’s 1,098. The average loss value jumped from $143,957 in 2013 to $181,681 in 2014. CargoNet also says carriers and truck operators should be more attentive to vehicles trailing them, as the rise in organized cargo theft rings has given rise to thieves talking shipments from their point of origin, sometimes trailing loads hundreds of miles and across multiple states waiting on drivers to leave their truck and trailer unattended. “Truckers should frequently make sure they’re not being followed, especially by a car with multiple occupants and out-of-state plates,” CargoNet warns in its report. FreightWatch International in its 2014 report noted a similar trend, saying growing sophistication among thieves will likely mean fewer theft incidents but more targeted and highly planned thefts. Original Article Three suspects believed to be part of a Cuban gang stealing tractor-trailers along the East Coast were arrested in Wythe County on Wednesday night.
According to Wythe County Sheriff Keith Dunagan, the two men and one woman were captured near a trailer that was reported stolen at approximately 10 p.m. from Exit 41 off of Interstate 77. Read Article A trio of men stole several barrels of gold worth more than $4 million from a truck traveling through eastern North Carolina, leaving the vehicle's drivers tied up in the woods after they fled the scene, authorities said Monday.
The heist happened after the truck began experiencing mechanical problems late Sunday on Interstate 95 in Wilson County, the local sheriff said in a statement. The robbers tied up the two armed security guards escorting the shipment from Miami to Massachusetts and fled. Read Article More than $18 million of cargo was stolen in the United States in the fourth quarter of 2014, according to new figures from CargoNet.
During the three-month period the cargo recovery service recorded 181 thefts, with 81 in October, 60 in November, and 40 in December. Fifty-five percent of the thefts occurred during Friday through Sunday. Food and beverage items were the most stolen commodity and accounted for 24% of cargo thefts. Alcoholic and nonalcoholic beverages were the chief targets in that commodity category, but cargo thieves frequently stole sensitive items such as produce, meat products, seafood, and frozen food. The end of the year brings increased demand for consumer electronics, said CargoNet, and not surprisingly, electronics constituted the bulk of the loss value. Although there were only 25 cargo thefts of electronic items, each theft averaged about $417,250. Televisions were the most targeted electronic theft. California had the most thefts of any state, 39, followed by Texas with 31, Florida had 26, Georgia recorded 14 and Illinois had 12, rounding out the top five. New Jersey was number six with 10 cargo thefts, followed closely with Pennsylvania with nine. “It’s unusual to see Pennsylvania on the list of states with the most cargo theft, but between October and December, crime groups based in states as far away as Florida aggressively targeted freight in Pennsylvania,” said CargoNet. “Pennsylvania serves as a shipping hub for the northeastern United States, and thus a considerable amount of desirable freight travels through it. More than $1.6 million in cargo was stolen in Pennsylvania in those three months. In some cases, the cargo sold before it was ever reported stolen.” Original Article MEMPHIS, TN (WMC) -A man accused of trying to steal nearly $1 million of LeBron James sneakers using a trailer didn't get very far thanks to a highly trained task force. Read Article
KANSAS CITY, Mo. --A Kansas City man has been sentenced to 21 years and 10 months in prison for his role in the theft of commercial trucks and their cargo over a 14-year period.
Kenneth Borders, 43, of Kansas City, received the punishment on Monday. He was also ordered to pay nearly $1.3 million in restitution to 27 victims. Borders and two other men in February were convicted of stealing trucks and trailers in Missouri, Kansas, Florida, Arkansas, Oklahoma and Nebraska since 1998. The men stole $125,000 worth of frozen ribs, nearly $60,000 in chicken wings and about 21,000 pounds of Little Sizzler sausages. Authorities say they sold the items cheaply to anyone who would buy it, sometimes out of the back of the trailer. Original Story By Amos Maki In November, a trailer full of new, pre-released LeBron James shoes made by Nike was stolen in the Memphis area. But thanks to a local task force dedicated to stopping cargo theft, the Oregon-based sports apparel giant, which operates a massive distribution center in Frayser, was able to recover nearly all of the shoes, which were valued at around $700,000. As a worldwide distribution hub, Memphis is often ground zero for cargo thieves who look to steal everything from household goods to electronics and clothing apparel like the LeBron James shoes. “If somebody wants something, it can be stolen and there is a market for it,” said Memphis Police Department Detective James “Drew” Harden, the police department’s representative on the Memphis Cargo Theft Task Force. “Think of the monetary gain if someone stole a 53-foot trailer and sold the merchandise for profit,” said Harden. “Even at pennies on the dollar, there’s still a lot of profit.” The Task Force is comprised of representatives from the FBI, Memphis Police Department, U.S. Marshals Service, Shelby County Sheriff’s Office and the Tennessee Highway Patrol and is one of seven task forces the FBI has tasked nationwide with policing the activity. Next fall, Memphis will play host to a national cargo theft conference with more than 300 representatives from law enforcement agencies from across the U.S. Cargo theft is a now multibillion-dollar criminal industry, one whose impact eventually trickles down to the price consumers pay at the checkout line. “It increases the prices you and I pay at virtually any store,” said Todd McCall, special agent in charge of the FBI’s Memphis division. Electronics, cigarettes, pharmaceuticals and clothing remain popular items for thieves, but Harden and McCall said household items such as clothes detergent have increasingly been targeted. “You’re not likely to see a rash of thefts of potatoes, but if you’re talking about gaming systems or smartphones, you’re looking at a couple million dollars running down the road in these trailers,” said McCall. Harden and McCall described a murky underworld where criminal outfits and greedy employees are waiting to steal a shipment. In most cases it’s a low-risk, high-reward crime. “It’s a crime that doesn’t necessarily involve a huge amount of violence,” said McCall. “You can be in and out with a significant theft in a short amount of time.” Some thefts are inside jobs in which an employee steals cargo or tips off criminals who do the dirty work. Others are the result of criminal organizations that will track shipments from manufacturers or distribution centers for hundreds of miles, patiently waiting for the right time to pounce. Harden and McCall said it wasn’t uncommon for thieves to target truck stops, where they wait for a driver to leave his rig unattended or follow it until another opportunity becomes available, such as when a container is deposited at a drop lot. “You will see thousands of tractor-trailer rigs parked at truck stops every night and it’s a common thing for thieves to want to steal those,” said McCall. “It’s easier for them to find a trailer in a lot where they can cut the lock and get the trailer and leave,” said McCall. “Some of these individuals are very good and look for specific loads and others are more opportunistic.” After stealing the cargo, the thieves have to sell their goods and reach out to their own distribution chain, hawking their stolen merchandise on the Internet, to mom-and-pop convenience stores or to trusted friends. “To me, it is the very definition of organized crime,” said Harden. “These cargo thieves are local crews and crews that travel the country.” From Oct. 1, 2013, to Sept. 30, 2014, the Memphis Cargo Theft Task Force made 60 arrests, up from 45 the year before. Around $3 million in property was recovered or seized, along with $400,000 in cash. Arrests can often trigger federal prosecutions because interstate commerce is involved. As the task force cracks down in the Memphis area, the thieves are adjusting. “Now they’re moving into smaller jurisdictions outside Memphis,” said Harden. “We’ve been successful and industry has stepped up its security, so it’s pushing it outside Memphis.” Original Article Interest in the growing logistics demon—colloquially known as cargo theft—has risen in recent years as more legislators support their constituents’ request to cease terming the threat as a “victimless crime.” The North American shipping and transportation industry has entered its busiest season—September through January. In 2013, theft activity concentrated in the fourth quarter with a cumulative 242 incidents; the greatest number of incidents were reported in late September, just before the beginning of the holiday shipping season. Additionally, the United States has seen a significant rise in driver theft incidents, which involve either direct theft by the driver, the driver’s voluntary collusion or complicity in the crime, or a deceptive criminal posing as a legitimate carrier resource. Typically a crime of opportunity, thefts by drivers fluctuate in volume year-to-year. However, this method reached an all-time high in 2013, with a 76% increase over 2012 and a 389% increase over 2011. This growing trend—surreptitious drivers—warrants acute awareness as the shipping industry enters its peak season. The last four months of the calendar year frequently infuse the most risk, often brought about by the supply and demand imparted on transportation operations. Limitations on available carriers regularly necessitate brokering (as well as re-brokering to the second, third, and sometimes fourth order). Additionally, high-volume requirements (both in production and shipping) strain workers throughout the supply chain to meet the demands of customers and end-users. This pressure often results in security practices being overlooked or sometimes avoided altogether. By observing the following ten fundamentals of logistics security, Supply Chain Professionals can minimize their chances of falling victim to this growing threat. Courtesy of FreightWatch Host Rich Eisen’s 48-foot DirecTV production truck stolen in Miami Lakes, recovered later11/13/2014 People steal the darnedest things, and South Florida certainly isn’t immune. But the early morning heist of a 48-foot, multimillion-dollar, state-of-the-art television production truck from the parking lot of a Miami Lakes hotel left a lot of people puzzled.
DirecTV and CBS sports broadcaster Rich Eisen wondered how he would do his Thursday show before the broadcast of the Miami Dolphins-Buffalo Bills football game at Sun Life Stadium. The truck’s owners, a production company named NEP, wondered as well: What could anyone possibly do with a truck that size? “That’s a very good question we’d like to know the answer to,” said NEP marketing manager Meredith Knight. And Miami-Dade police were left wondering where anyone would hide a several-ton 18-wheeler that’s almost 20 yards long and has a dark blue exterior with the word “Sweetwater” printed on it. Just before 8 p.m. Wednesday, they got their answer. Police recovered the trailer in Northwest Dade and said it didn’t appear anything had been stolen or damaged, although the truck cab was still missing. Knight said the show wouldn’t have missed a beat anyway, as another production truck from an alternate location was already on its way to Sun Life Stadium in Miami Gardens, where the Dolphins play. The Dolphins host the Bills Thursday night. Kickoff is set for 8:25 p.m.; the game will be aired on the NFL Network. Eisen, a former ESPN broadcaster who now hosts The Rich Eisen Show for DirecTV, initially reported the truck missing in a tweet just past noon Wednesday. “Breaking News. The satellite truck we had booked to do our show from Miami tomorrow has been stolen. This is not a drill,” Eisen wrote. The truck is operated by a company called Sweetwater, a division of NEP, which DirecTV contracts out for Eisen’s telecasts. It’s used specifically for Eisen’s show, not the NFL Network or the local CBS affiliate’s broadcast of the football game. Knight, the NEP representative, said directors and producers use the truck as a control room, and Eisen typically does the broadcast from a location outside the truck. The truck, which NEP calls Pacific, was supposed to spend the night in the parking lot of the TownPlace Suites Hotel at 8079 NW 154th St., also in Miami Lakes. It was taken sometime between 10 p.m. Tuesday and 6 a.m. Wednesday. Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/crime/article3830096.html#storylink=cpy |
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