Members of a theft ring based out of Kentucky spent years stealing millions worth of cargo from tractor trailers traveling along the interstate, according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Read Full Story Here.

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The methods may change but the adage remains true, Freight at rest is freight at risk.

Great Article featuring Scott Cornell - Travelers: Read Article Here 

Breaking News out of Wisconsin, "Ringleaders Sentenced In Massive Interstate Cargo Theft Case"

Nearly a dozen men have been arrested in a cargo theft trafficking ring that used stolen tractor-trailers to move more than $1 million in goods meant for retailers across the country to a New Jersey warehouse, where they were held until they could be sold domestically or overseas, officials said Wednesday. 

The five-month investigation, dubbed “Operation Botany Strike,” began Oct. 14, when detectives from the New Jersey State Police Interstate Theft North Unit began looking into the theft of a tractor-trailer, which contained $104,000 worth of meat, from a trucking lot in South Amboy.

Troopers found the abandoned tractor-trailer later that day at the Vince Lombardi Service Area on the New Jersey Turnpike and began following leads, which ultimately uncovered the organized theft ring. 

Over the course of the investigation, detectives found the thieves would transport stolen tractor-trailers from various jurisdictions throughout New Jersey to specific locations within a warehouse in Passaic. That facility served as the predominant location where the suspects would load and offload stolen cargo, as well as store the stolen tractor-trailers, officials said. Detectives also identified secondary locations in Little Ferry and Secaucus that served similar functions. 

Ultimately, 16 loads of stolen cargo were recovered from 10 national retailers. The seized cargo ranged from clothing and granite to home goods, landscaping equipment and food products, officials said. 

The suspects range in age from 26 to 60 and all live in northern New Jersey. They all face charges of receiving stolen property and conspiracy; one also faces a charge of fencing, which means knowingly buying stolen goods in order to later resell them for profit. 

“The suspects operating within this theft ring stole anything they could get their hands on, driving stolen tractor-trailers filled with everything from clothing, granite and food products to predestined facilities where they would store and offload the stolen cargo, eventually selling it both domestically and overseas,” Colonel Patrick Callahan, acting superintendent of the New Jersey State Police, said in a statement. “This operation alone, headed by the State Police Interstate Theft North Unit along with our partners, recovered more than $1 million of stolen cargo and dismantled a lucrative crime syndicate, which was costing victim businesses and consumers millions more.” 

Police departments in South Amboy, Lakewood, Newark, South Brunswick, Carlstadt, Kearny, Edison and Woodbridge assisted the New Jersey State Police Interstate Theft North Unit in the investigation, as did the New Jersey Division of Criminal Justice.

ORIGINAL ARTICLE

​SensiGuard reports cargo thefts were down 15 percent in 2017 from 2016, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t still a high risk of theft in the country.
Cargo theft recording firm SensiGuard is reporting a 15 percent decrease in cargo theft volume in 2017 when compared to 2016, along with a negligible increase in average loss value year-over-year.
The firm says it recorded 649 cargo thefts in the U.S. in 2017 with 146 in the first quarter, 132 in the second quarter, 177 in the third quarter and 194 in the fourth quarter. SensiGuard also reports an average loss value of $146,063, up just a tenth of a percent over 2016. Last month, cargo theft recording firm CargoNet reported a total of 741 cargo thefts in 2017.
SensiGuard notes that while 2017 continued a downward trend in reported cargo thefts, that trend “does not indicate a decline in cargo theft risk in the U.S.” The firm adds that instead, thieves are homing in on specific loads that can be easily stolen or target specific products.
For the first time in eight years, food and drinks were not the most-stolen products in a year. Home and garden items topped the list in 2017.
In-transit thefts were most common in 2017, accounting for 78 percent of all recorded thefts during the year. Pilferage was the second-most common type of theft during the year, accounting for 15 percent of all thefts. Fictitious pickups saw a dramatic decrease in 2017, falling by 39 percent to account for just 3 percent of thefts. This decrease, SensiGuard says, was a result of the number of arrests, especially in Southern California, of cargo thieves.
Additionally, 75 percent of thefts in 2017 occurred in unsecured parking locations, including public parking areas, truck stops and drop lots.
Theft of full truckload incidents accounted for 78 percent of all thefts in 2017, followed by pilferage, accounting for 15 percent of thefts.
For the first time in eight years, food and drinks did not top the list of most-stolen items in 2017. Instead, home and garden products took the top spot, accounting for 17 percent of thefts during the year. Food and drinks made up 16 percent of the 2017 total, a 14 percent decrease from 2016. Other highly-targeted products included electronics (15 percent of thefts), and building and industrial (12 percent).
California continued to lead the nation in cargo thefts in 2017, accounting for 28 percent of thefts in the year. Texas came in behind California with 16 percent of thefts, followed by New Jersey (11 percent), Florida (9 percent) and Georgia (9 percent). ORIGINAL ARTICLE 

By Assignment Desk, Fox 5 NewsCONNECT


Springfield, Mo. -- (1/26/2018) Five Texas men have been indicted by a federal grand jury for stealing 650 firearms from United Parcel Service trailers in Springfield en route to Bass Pro Shops.

Frank McChriston, 33, of Ponder, Texas, Keith Lowe, 28, of Dallas, Texas, Quinton Haywood, 26, of Glenn Heights, Texas and Eric White, 26, and Derrick White, 32, both of Texas, were charged in a two-count indictment returned by a federal grand jury in Springfield on Wednesday. The federal indictment replaces a criminal complaint that was filed under seal on December 29, 2017. The five co-defendants were arrested in Texas, where they remain in federal custody pending transportation to the Western District of Missouri.

The indictment charges each of the five defendants in one count of aiding and abetting one another to steal firearms being shipped across state lines, from Beretta USA in Maryland to the state of Missouri. The indictment also charges each of the five defendants in one count of aiding and abetting one another to possess stolen firearms.

According to an affidavit filed in support of the original federal criminal complaint, Derrick and Eric White, McChriston, Lowe and Haywood stole 650 firearms, along with other cargo, from UPS trailers in Springfield in October 2017.

The firearms were in the process of being shipped from Beretta Firearms in Maryland to Bass Pro Shops in Springfield. The trailers in which the firearms were shipped had been parked in the UPS freight lot in a configuration to prevent access to the trailer doors, by being parked back-to-back, with the roll-up doors facing each other. The trailers were then blocked by longer trailers, which should have acted as a preventative measure from someone backing a truck-tractor to the trailer and pulling it forward.

Sometime between noon on October 28, 2017, and 8:30 a.m. on October 29, 2017, thieves hot-wired two truck-tractors and used them to push and pull various trailers around the lot, allowing the thieves access to the trailer doors. Thieves stole 600 Beretta .380-caliber handguns and 54 Beretta12-gauge shotguns, as well as an entire pallet of Justin brand boots, numerous power tools and 12 cases of soda. UPS employees discovered the theft on October 29, 2017, and notified law enforcement.

The next day, Best Way Moving & Storage in Springfield discovered that a truck had been stolen sometime after noon on October 28, 2017. On November 8, 2017, the stolen truck was found in Seagoville, Texas, which is in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex.

According to the affidavit, cell phone tower records indicated that the cell phones of Derrick White, Eric White, McChriston, Lowe and Haywood all were in the vicinity of the UPS freight facility in Springfield at or near the time of the theft. Investigators determined that all five cell phones left the Dallas metroplex on October 27, 2017, arrived in Springfield on October 28, 2017, and returned to the Dallas metroplex on October 29, 2017. Haywood’s phone was also in the area where the stolen truck from Best Way Moving was recovered in Seagoville.

Eric and Derrick White were located at Redneck Heaven Restaurant & Bar in Arlington, Texas, on November 19, 2017, and arrested on outstanding warrants from an unrelated case. A Beretta .380-caliber handgun was found in Derrick White’s car as it was being towed; investigators confirmed the firearm had been stolen from the shipment of firearms in the Springfield UPS freight facility. Additional items consistent with those stolen in the UPS theft were located in Derrick White’s vehicle, including a Milwaukee M18 2 Toll Combo Kit, still in the box, and two SOG folding knives, still in the box.

A loaded Taurus 9mm pistol was found in Eric White’s car. Investigators also recovered two sets of bolt cutters and two key rings containing several keys from Eric White’s car. The keys were the type commonly used for tractor trailer trucks and fork lifts, and circular keys common for storage units and vending machines.