2013
Global Cargo Theft
Threat Assessment
Prepared by
FreightWatch International
Supply Chain Intelligence Center
©2006-2013 FreightWatch International
The information contained is the property of FreightWatch International. This information may not be sold,
licensed, or used for business development in any capacity without the prior written consent of FreightWatch
International. FreightWatch International encourages recipients to use this information for cargo theft
prevention activities and to share this information in its entirety with colleagues who may also benefit in a
theft prevention capacity.
2013 Global Cargo Theft Threat Assessment
2
About FreightWatch International
FreightWatch International is a leading provider of global logistics security services,
offering tracking and monitoring solutions that provide organizations with cargo
security, transparency and supply chain integrity from origin to destination. Using our
real-time visibility technology and layered solutions, organizations can actively monitor
their cargo anywhere in the global supply chain in order to mitigate the risks associated
with theft, spoilage, counterfeiting and more. With operations across the globe,
FreightWatch is uniquely positioned to deliver regionally and globally across diverse
supply chains.
FreightWatch International is a part of Sensitech, Inc., a leading provider of supply
chain visibility, enabling global leaders in the life sciences, food and industrial markets
to track and monitor assets across the supply chain in order to protect the integrity of
temperature-sensitive products. Sensitech is an ISO 9001:2008 company based in
Beverly, Mass., with more than 30 sales, service and distribution locations around the
world. Sensitech is a part of UTC Climate, Controls & Security, a unit of United
Technologies Corp (NYSE: UTX), a leading provider to the aerospace and building
systems industries worldwide.
More information about FreightWatch International is available at
www.freightwatchintl.com.
The FreightWatch International Supply Chain Intelligence Center collects cargo theft
and supply chain risk data from numerous sources across the globe, including but not
limited to FreightWatch International’s own databases, its customers, law enforcement
agencies, industry organizations, insurance industry sources and news reports.
FreightWatch International then analyzes that data and reports on cargo theft and
supply chain risk across the globe, providing readers, members and clients with up-todate, actionable intelligence that is crucial for making informed supply chain security
decisions.
To register for the Intelligence Center and receive alerts, bulletins and reports, please
visit us at http://www.freightwatchintl.com/intelligencecenter.
© FreightWatch International (U.S.A), Inc. 2013
2013 Global Cargo Theft Threat Assessment
3
Table of Contents
About FreightWatch International............................................................................................................................. 3
Introduction ............................................................................................................................................................... 8
North America ........................................................................................................................................................... 9
United States .......................................................................................................................................................... 9
Canada ................................................................................................................................................................. 18
Mexico .................................................................................................................................................................. 21
Central and South America ..................................................................................................................................... 25
Brazil..................................................................................................................................................................... 25
Venezuela ............................................................................................................................................................. 27
Argentina.............................................................................................................................................................. 28
Guatemala ............................................................................................................................................................ 30
Columbia .............................................................................................................................................................. 31
Peru ...................................................................................................................................................................... 32
Europe...................................................................................................................................................................... 34
About FreightWatch and TAPA EMEA .................................................................................................................. 35
Germany............................................................................................................................................................... 36
France................................................................................................................................................................... 40
Italy....................................................................................................................................................................... 43
United Kingdom ................................................................................................................................................... 46
Spain ..................................................................................................................................................................... 50
Netherlands.......................................................................................................................................................... 52
Belgium ................................................................................................................................................................ 55
Russia ................................................................................................................................................................... 57
Africa ........................................................................................................................................................................ 59
South Africa .......................................................................................................................................................... 61
Asia .......................................................................................................................................................................... 64
China .................................................................................................................................................................... 64
Malaysia ............................................................................................................................................................... 66
2013 Global Cargo Theft Threat Assessment
4
Philippines ............................................................................................................................................................ 67
India...................................................................................................................................................................... 69
Vietnam ................................................................................................................................................................ 70
Contact..................................................................................................................................................................... 70
2013 Global Cargo Theft Threat Assessment
5
Table of Figures
Figure 1 - Global Heat Map ........................................................................................................................................ 8
Figure 2 - US Theft by Year......................................................................................................................................... 9
Figure 3 - US Atypical Theft Types ........................................................................................................................... 10
Figure 4 - US Corn Prices vs. Meat Thefts ................................................................................................................ 11
Figure 5 - US Michigan State Rank ........................................................................................................................... 11
Figure 6 - US Metal Thefts........................................................................................................................................ 11
Figure 7 - US Pin Map ............................................................................................................................................... 12
Figure 8 - US Top 10 States ...................................................................................................................................... 12
Figure 9 - US Theft by State ..................................................................................................................................... 13
Figure 10 - US Average Values ................................................................................................................................. 13
Figure 11 - US Product Type with Average Value .................................................................................................... 14
Figure 12 - US Theft by Month ................................................................................................................................. 15
Figure 13 - US Theft by Day of Week ....................................................................................................................... 15
Figure 14 - US Theft by Product Type ...................................................................................................................... 16
Figure 15 - US Electronics Thefts ............................................................................................................................. 17
Figure 16 - US Theft by Type of Event ...................................................................................................................... 18
Figure 17 - Canada Heat Map .................................................................................................................................. 18
Figure 18 - Canada Theft by Product Type ............................................................................................................... 20
Figure 19 - Mexico Heat Map ................................................................................................................................... 21
Figure 20 - Mexico Interactive Map ......................................................................................................................... 23
Figure 21 - Mexico Theft by Product Type ............................................................................................................... 23
Figure 22 - Mexico High-RIsk Highways ................................................................................................................... 24
Figure 23 - Brazil Heat Map...................................................................................................................................... 26
Figure 24 - Venezuela Heat Map .............................................................................................................................. 27
Figure 25 - Argentina Heat Map............................................................................................................................... 28
Figure 26 - Argentina Theft by Product Type ........................................................................................................... 29
Figure 27 - Argentina High-Risk Highways ............................................................................................................... 29
Figure 28 - Guatemala Heat Map ............................................................................................................................. 30
Figure 29 - Columbia Heat Map ............................................................................................................................... 31
Figure 30 - Peru Heat Map ....................................................................................................................................... 32
Figure 31 - Germany Heat Map................................................................................................................................ 36
Figure 32 - Germany Theft by Product Type ............................................................................................................ 38
Figure 33 - Germany Theft by Type of Event ........................................................................................................... 39
Figure 34 - France Heat Map.................................................................................................................................... 40
Figure 35 - France Theft by Product Type ................................................................................................................ 42
Figure 36 - Italy Heat Map ....................................................................................................................................... 43
Figure 37 - Italy Theft by Product Type .................................................................................................................... 45
Figure 38 - UK Heat Map .......................................................................................................................................... 46
2013 Global Cargo Theft Threat Assessment
6
Figure 39 - UK Theft by Type of Event ..................................................................................................................... 48
Figure 40 - UK Theft by Product Type ...................................................................................................................... 49
Figure 41 - Spain Heat Map...................................................................................................................................... 50
Figure 42 - Spain Theft by Product Type .................................................................................................................. 52
Figure 43 - Netherlands Heat Map........................................................................................................................... 52
Figure 44 - Netherlands Theft by Product Type ....................................................................................................... 54
Figure 45 -Belgium Heat Map .................................................................................................................................. 55
Figure 46 - Belgium Theft by Product Type.............................................................................................................. 56
Figure 47 - Africa Heat Map ..................................................................................................................................... 59
Figure 48 - South Africa Heat Map........................................................................................................................... 62
Figure 49 - China Heat Map ..................................................................................................................................... 64
Figure 50 - China Illustration of In-Motion Thefts .................................................................................................. 66
Figure 51 - Malaysia Heat Map ................................................................................................................................ 66
Figure 52 - Philippines Heat Map ............................................................................................................................. 68
Figure 53 - India Heat Map ...................................................................................................................................... 69
2013 Global Cargo Theft Threat Assessment
7
Global Cargo Theft Risk: Threat Assessment
Risk Level
Low
Elevated
Moderate
High
Severe
Figure 1 - Global Heat Map
Mexico, Brazil, South
Africa, the United
States and Russia
are the countries
most at risk for cargo
theft globally.
Global cargo theft risks as shown on the above map vary greatly from country to
country. Even within individual countries, risks can vary from region to region. On a
country-by-country basis, cargo theft threats, as most other criminal activity, are
typically rooted in social, economic and cultural conditions. The prevention of cargo
theft on a global scale requires intimate knowledge of incident trends on a regional
basis, as security programs and mitigation techniques do not always transfer
successfully from region to region.
Organizations must diligently gather intelligence and adapt their anti-theft programs to
address local threats. The purpose of this report is to outline the risk of cargo theft on a
global level, highlighting significant countries in the global supply chain in order to
assist industry decision-makers in determining their supply chain security needs.
According to data collected by FreightWatch International from numerous sources
across the globe, including but not limited to FreightWatch International’s own
databases, its customers, law enforcement agencies, industry organizations, insurance
industry sources and news reports, Mexico, Brazil, South Africa, the United States and
Russia are the countries most at risk for cargo theft globally.
Unless otherwise noted in this assessment report, when specific theft statistics are
noted in this assessment report those statistics are derived from FreightWatch
International’s own data based on cargo security services provided by FreightWatch
International to its customers. As such, total theft figures for a particular country or
region are likely higher than stated.
Please note that this assessment report expresses the opinions of FreightWatch
International based on the specific data reviewed. Global cargo theft circumstances
and risks can and do change, sometimes frequently and/or quickly, and in ways that
may make the facts and opinions expressed in this assessment report no longer
complete or valid. As such, the extent to which you rely on the facts and opinions
expressed in this assessment should be made entirely by you, in your sole discretion,
only after careful analysis of all relevant facts applicable to your business.
© FreightWatch International (U.S.A), Inc. 2013
2013 Global Cargo Theft Threat Assessment
8
North America
Cargo theft in North America varies widely among the three countries. While cargo
theft in the United States is predominantly nonconfrontational, with only 2% of all
recorded incidents involving violence or the threat of violence, cargo theft in Mexico is
almost exclusively violent, with armed thieves roaming the highways and stealing cargo
seemingly at will.
The differences do not stop there. Cargo theft in Canada is centered near the country’s
metropolitan areas, with minimal theft occurring in its rural countryside. Mexico,
however, sees thefts throughout the country, regardless of population density.
The United States experienced a slight increase in recorded cargo theft activity in 2012
over the previous year, reaching a new record volume. Mexico saw a massive
increase in the number of reported cargo thefts in 2012, and while some of this may be
attributed to variances in reporting, most official sources agree that cargo theft is still on
the rise in Mexico.
Canadian theft data, while still sparse due to a lack of a centralized recording or
information delivery system, indicates that cargo theft is on the rise in this country as
well.
United States
The United States
reached a new
record volume in
recorded cargo theft
activity in 2012.
FreightWatch
International actively
tracks and records
cargo theft around the
globe, categorizing
stolen loads under 14
different product types,
and tracking by date,
location, modus
operandi (M.O.), value
and specific product.
This report
summarizes the U.S.
theft data collected in
2012 and analyzes
trends derived from
database content, law
enforcement
information and
industry personnel. It
also draws on
observations by
personnel in the field.
Cargo Theft Incidents
1000
950
900
850
800
750
700
650
600
2009
2010
2011
2012
Figure 2 - US Theft by Year
FreightWatch recorded a total of 946 cargo theft incidents throughout the United States
in 2012. While barely a 0.1% increase over the 2011 total of 945, this is the highest
number of theft incidents on record. Additionally, new trends explained in further detail
in this report indicate thieves remained determined to obtain targeted cargo.
2013 Global Cargo Theft Threat Assessment
9
With an average of
78.8 cargo theft
incidents per month,
the United States
sustained cargo theft
incidents at a rate of
2.59 per day. Of these
thefts, 766 (80.97%)
were full-truckload or
container thefts and 41
(4.33%) were lessthan-truckload losses.
Deceptive (fictitious)
pickups, on the rise
Atypical Theft Types
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Deceptive pickup
Driver theft
Facility
burglary/robbery
Hijacking
2009
2010
2011
2012
since FreightWatch
Figure 3 - US Atypical Theft Types
began collecting data,
reached a high in 2012
at 61 incidents (6.45%). Facility thefts saw 17 (1.8%) incidents, with only one involving
human contact with the thieves, and thus classified as a robbery. Incidents involving
violence remained a very low portion of cargo thefts, representing 2.2% of all cargo
theft.
Major Trends
One readily evident
trend in 2012 was the
continued rise in
deceptive pickups.
A continued trend since the beginning of FreightWatch data collection, the percentage
of Electronics thefts compared to the total number of thefts as a whole has dropped
steadily. With 32% of overall cargo thefts in 2007, the percentage of Electronics thefts
has dropped each subsequent year to a new low of 12% in 2012. While still one of the
more sought-after product types, its lead diminishes steadily.
One readily evident trend in 2012 was the continued rise in deceptive pickups.
Deceptive pickups increased from eight in 2009 to 61 in 2012, an increase of 763%.
While still only 6.45% of overall cargo theft in 2012, the rise in deceptive pickups (and
the decline of violent methods such as hijackings) represents the evolution of cargo
theft. In other words, it has developed from thieves following a load and waiting for an
opportunity to steal the targeted cargo to essentially setting an appointment to steal it.
Deceptive pickups, in which thieves generally assume the identity of a legitimate cargo
carrier in order to broker the transport of the load, significantly lower the perpetrators’
risk level over traditional trailer thefts.
Another recent trend is the rise in meat thefts correlating directly to the price of corn as
a commodity. As the price of corn rises in the US (typically based on factors such as
drought), the cost of raising cattle also rises. This causes a spike in the price of meat,
and therefore its desirability by thieves. Meat thefts saw a dramatic increase in 2011,
spiking from seven thefts in Q1-11 to 17 in Q2-11, an increase of 58.82%. While 2011
was the worst year for recorded thefts of meats, thefts targeting these products
remained higher in all four quarters of 2012 than in the years leading up to 2011. With
the US Drought Monitor predicting drought conditions to worsen, thefts of meat
products will likely rise in direct relation.
2013 Global Cargo Theft Threat Assessment 10
Corn Prices vs Meat Thefts
20
$350.00
$300.00
$250.00
$200.00
$150.00
$100.00
$50.00
$0.00
15
10
5
0
Meat Thefts
Avg Price of Corn per Ton
Figure 4 - US Corn Prices vs. Meat Thefts
Michigan made its
first appearance on
the Top 10 states in
2012.
In 2012, the state of Michigan saw an unprecedented jump
Michigan State Rank
in its rank of top cargo theft states within the US. Typically
2008
#19
hovering around Number 20 in the ranking, Michigan made
its first appearance on the list of Top 10 states in 2012,
2009
#26
debuting at Number 8. Owing largely to the recent spike in
2010
#20
thefts in the Detroit area, Michigan also saw a higher-than2011
#19
average occurrence of violence, with violence or threat of
2012
#8
violence employed in 23% of thefts in the state, compared
with an average of 2% nationwide. This less-planned and
Figure 5 - US Michigan State
higher-risk method of cargo theft — which also carries
Rank
stiffer penalties for thieves who are caught — suggests
inexperienced thieves are involved. This could mean a new
theft ring is attempting to capitalize on shipments that stage for extended periods of
time in anticipation of crossing the US-Canada border.
Metal Thefts
150
20.00%
15.00%
100
10.00%
50
5.00%
0
0.00%
2010
2011
# Thefts
Figure 6 - US Metal Thefts
2012
% Overall
Metal thefts, first identified as a
major trend in early 2012 with
the sharp increase in copper
prices, remained a concern
throughout the year. Almost
doubling in both number of
incidents and percentage of
overall thefts, Metals went from
73 thefts (7.73%) in 2011 to 141
thefts (14.9%) in 2012. Due to
the relatively low security on
these loads, coupled with the
ease of liquidating the goods for
cash, Metals are being
aggressively targeted by cargo
thieves nationwide. One notable
example is the theft of $2 million
worth of copper ingots from a
facility in Arizona. Luckily, 144
2013 Global Cargo Theft Threat Assessment 11
tons of copper from this theft were recovered at the Port of Los Angeles prior to
shipment to China.
Figure 7 - US Pin Map
By State
Typically densely clustered in six to seven
State
2011
key states, cargo theft broadened in 2012,
California
254
expanding to new highs in normally low-level
theft states. Also, most of the top states saw
Florida
135
a decrease in the number of thefts over
Texas
105
2011. California, in first place year after year,
New Jersey
126
still claims the top spot although the number
dropped from 254 thefts in 2011 to 230 in
Georgia
60
2012. Similarly, Florida dropped from 135 to
Illinois
54
132, while New Jersey saw a dramatic drop
Pennsylvania
24
from 126 to 78. Thefts occurring in Texas, on
the other hand, rose from 105 in 2011 to 123
Michigan
7
in 2012. Georgia, Illinois and Pennsylvania
Indiana
23
also saw slight increases, from 60 to 68, 54
Tennessee
25
to 60 and 24 to 29, respectively. Michigan,
however, boasted the largest change,
Figure 8 - US Top 10 States
increasing from seven in 2011 to 22 in 2012,
a 214% jump.
2012
230
132
123
78
68
60
29
22
19
18
2013 Global Cargo Theft Threat Assessment 12
While the top six states accounted for almost 78% of all cargo theft in 2011, the same
top six made up 73% of overall cargo theft in 2012. This illustrates the expanding reach
of cargo criminals, who are now traveling farther to obtain their targeted merchandise.
Theft by State
300
250
200
150
100
50
California
Florida
Texas
New Jersey
Georgia
Illinois
Pennsylvania
Michigan
Indiana
Tennessee
South Carolina
Maryland
Virginia
Alabama
Mississippi
Ohio
Missouri
North Carolina
Arizona
New York
Arkansas
Utah
Kentucky
New Mexico
Oklahoma
Wisconsin
0
2012
2011
Figure 9 - US Theft by State
By Value
The average loss
value per incident in
2012 marks a new alltime low since the
start of FreightWatch
data collection.
The average value per theft
incident peaked in 2009 at
$554,105. Since then, it has
been on a steady decline. The
average loss value per incident
in 2012 was $173,727, down
45% from 2011 and a new alltime low since the start of
FreightWatch data collection.
Jewelry/Accessories saw the
highest average value per
incident of any product type in
2012, with an average value of
$425,000 per loss. Close behind
were Electronics and Tobacco
at $382,732 and $382,500,
respectively. The largest single
incident loss, at $3,126,164,
was the theft of currency from a
Product Type
2011
2012
Alcohol
$169,839 $96,662
Auto/Parts
$98,449 $104,552
Building/Industrial
$97,537 $75,725
Clothing/Shoes
$189,792 $197,941
Consumer Care
$51,391 $85,515
Cosmetics/Personal Care
$428,025 $273,077
Electronics
$1,028,973 $382,732
Food/Drinks
$105,458 $76,147
Home/Garden
$86,230 $63,739
Jewelry/Accessories
$200,000 $425,000
Metals
$186,610 $168,784
Miscellaneous
$98,398 $218,444
Pharmaceuticals
$555,566 $168,219
Tobacco
$393,500 $382,500
Figure 10 - US Average Values
2013 Global Cargo Theft Threat Assessment 13
facility in Florida.
The significant decrease in average loss value from 2011 to 2012 is largely due to the
lack of thefts targeting extreme high-value cargo of $1 million or more. 2012 saw only
13 thefts over $1 million, compared with 21 in 2011 and 31 in 2010. Additionally, this
drop in average loss value indicates the response of the industry in securing its highervalue shipments from full-truckload theft.
Product Type with Average Value
200
180
160
140
120
100
80
60
40
20
0
$450,000
$400,000
$350,000
$300,000
$250,000
$200,000
$150,000
$100,000
$50,000
$0
# Thefts
Avg. Value
Figure 11 - US Product Type with Average Value
By Date
Bucking the typical trend of high theft incidents in the fourth quarter, 2012 saw January,
March and April as its highest incident months. The first quarter of 2012 saw more than
28% of the annual cargo thefts for the entire year. October, historically the month with
the highest number of incidents, saw only 79 incidents in 2012, putting it at the sixth
highest month.
2013 Global Cargo Theft Threat Assessment 14
Theft by Month
120
100
80
60
40
20
0
2012
2011
Figure 12 - US Theft by Month
Despite changes in the month-by-month theft of cargo in 2012, theft by day of the week
continued its trend of favoring weekend days when cargo is typically stationary and
unattended. As shown in the chart below, cargo theft in the United States typically
centers around the weekend, with many theft incidents being discovered on Sundays or
Mondays. Similarly,
facility burglaries tend
to occur over the
weekend while most
employees are gone
Saturday
178
and minimal security
Friday
168
is in place. This also
delays the discovery
Thursday
109
of a theft and allows
Wednesday
80
thieves greater lead
Tuesday
101
time prior to law
enforcement
Monday
149
engagement. Almost
Sunday
161
71% of facility thefts
occurred over a
0
50
100
150
200
weekend in 2012.
Theft by Day of the Week
Figure 13 - US Theft by Day of Week
By Product Type
For the third consecutive year, Food/Drinks was the product type most often stolen in
2012, accounting for 19% of all cargo theft. Metals, in second place, garnered 15% of
thefts, while Electronics fell to third with 13% of all thefts.
2013 Global Cargo Theft Threat Assessment 15
Theft by Product Type
Jewelry/Accessories
0%
Metals
15%
Miscellaneous
10%
Pharmaceuticals
3%
Tobacco
Alcohol
1%
5%
Auto/Parts
8%
Home/Garden
10%
Food/Drinks
19%
Electronics
12%
Building/Industrial
5%
Clothing/Shoes
8%
Consumer Care
2%
Cosmetics/Personal
Care
2%
Figure 14 - US Theft by Product Type
Food/Drinks
Food/Drinks, which experienced 177 of the 940 total cargo thefts in 2012, has been the
most stolen product type since 2010.
For the third
consecutive year,
Food/Drinks was the
product type most
often stolen in 2012.
California saw 51 Food/Drinks thefts (29% of all thefts in this category), while Florida
came in second with 45 (26%). Texas was third with 21 (12%) and New Jersey was
fourth with 12 thefts (7%). Combined, these four states accounted for 73% of all
Food/Drinks thefts, while accounting for 60% of cargo theft across all product types.
These four states are also the top four states for cargo theft in general.
The most commonly stolen products in the Food/Drinks category were meat products,
energy drinks, soft drinks and produce, with an average value per loss of $75,664.
2013 Global Cargo Theft Threat Assessment 16
Electronics Theft as % of Total
1000
35
900
30
800
700
25
600
20
500
400
15
300
10
200
5
100
0
0
2007
2008
2009
2010
Total Cargo Theft
2011
2012
% of overall
Figure 15 - US Electronics Thefts
Electronics
As mentioned previously, Electronics have continued to decline in percentage of overall
cargo theft, with a 2012 tally of 13%, the lowest on record. Average value is declining
as well, falling from $1,028,973 in 2011 to $382,732 in 2012.
Of the 117 thefts in the Electronics sector in 2012, 39 (3%) occurred in California, 18
(15%) in Florida, 10 (9%) in Illinois and seven (6%) in Georgia.
The most targeted products in the Electronics category were televisions, cell phones
and video game consoles.
Pharmaceuticals
The Pharmaceutical industry has a history of some of the highest average loss values
in cargo theft. In recent years, however, the average load loss value in this sector has
dropped dramatically from $3.78 million in 2010 to $168,219 in 2012. Pharmaceuticals
are enjoying both the lowest number of incidents as well as the lowest average value
per incident recorded by this industry since the beginning of FreightWatch data
collection.
Of the 30 Pharmaceutical thefts in 2012, seven (23%) occurred in Texas, primarily
Houston; four (13%) occurred in Georgia; while Florida, Michigan and New Jersey had
three thefts each (10% each).
By Theft Type and Location
Cargo thieves in the US tend to target loaded trailers and containers that are stationary
and unattended. 85% of all recorded thefts in 2012 fell into this category.
2013 Global Cargo Theft Threat Assessment 17
Deceptive pickups, as previously mentioned, have seen a sharp increase since 2011,
and a steady increase since 2009. California experienced the vast majority of deceptive
pickups at 20 recorded incidents (33%), with Texas in second at 11 (18%) of the 61
total deceptive pickups. Deceptive pickups primarily targeted Food/Drinks (30%),
Metals (18%) and Alcohol and Electronics (15% each).
Theft by Type of Event
Attempted hijacking
950
900
850
800
750
700
650
600
Facility robbery
Theft from container
Hijacking
Last-mile courier
Facility burglary
Driver theft
Theft from trailer
Theft of container
Deceptive pickup
In 2012, 69% of all
thefts with a known
location occurred
at unsecured
parking areas. The
most often
targeted locations
within unsecured
parking areas were
truck stops (29%),
public parking
(15%), carrier lot
(10%) and drop lot
(9%).
Theft from secured
lots rose from 16%
of known locations
in 2011 to 17.66%
in 2012.
Figure 16 - US Theft by Type of Event
*There is no
general consensus within the industry as to the definition of “secured lot,” and this
designation is assigned only when the theft report indicates that the location was a
secured parking area.
Canada
Although the number of
recorded incidents in
Canada rose by 18% from
2011 to 2012, cargo theft
reporting remained sparse,
with almost as many
notices of recovered freight
released as actual theft
incidents. Since generally
speaking only a small
fraction of stolen cargo is
ever located, the volume of
notices regarding found
freight in Canada suggests
that the level of cargo theft in
Figure 17 - Canada Heat Map
2013 Global Cargo Theft Threat Assessment 18
the country is much higher than the numbers would indicate. While likely lower than US
levels, cargo theft in Canada presents a significant, and growing, threat to shippers.
Canadian cargo theft is largely centered in the major cities and hubs of the supply
chain industry, most notably the Greater Toronto Area (GTA), Montreal, Edmonton and
Vancouver. On a national level, cargo theft reporting occurs almost exclusively from the
regional police agencies covering the Toronto area. They record thefts rates that can
rival Los Angeles, Dallas/Fort Worth and the South Florida area.
The more rural areas of Canada report virtually no cargo theft activity. While this is not
to say that all shipments are arriving untouched, reporting in Canada is extremely
sparse, precluding a consistent data stream from which to conduct analysis.
The Greater Toronto
Area is known for
having the highest
rates of cargo theft in
Canada.
In areas of high cargo theft activity, product types targeted by cargo theft gangs in
Canada mirror those of the United States. Although Pharmaceutical thefts were
uncommon in Canada in 2011, thefts in this category increased in 2012, with several
thefts reported. The Food/Drinks and Building/Industrial categories topped the list of
targets in Canada, although the country experienced a significant number of
Electronics thefts as well.
The GTA, including Brampton and Mississauga, is known for having the highest rates
of cargo theft in Canada, rivaling the major supply chain crime areas of the US,
including Los Angeles, Dallas/Fort Worth and Miami. While Toronto proper has few
thefts, its proximity to Mississauga and Brampton give cause for concern. Mississauga
faces high risk of cargo theft, accounting for a number of violent incidents, including
several warehouse/facility robberies in the past three years. In May 2009, a cargo theft
gang hijacked a $1.5 million Pharmaceutical shipment as it transited through
Mississauga. In general, trailer thefts in this area are evenly spread among thefts from
what are listed as secured lots and other unsecured lots such as public parking, truck
stops, etc. A large number of cargo theft gangs operate in Mississauga on a daily
basis, causing this area of the GTA to have the highest risk of anywhere in Canada.
Brampton accounts for approximately 25% of all cargo theft incidents recorded for the
province of Ontario. Theft in Toronto is evenly split among the Auto/Parts, Consumer
Care Products, Building/Industrial, Clothes/Shoes, Electronics and Food/Drinks product
types.
2013 Global Cargo Theft Threat Assessment 19
Theft by Product Type
Home/Garden
12%
Food/Drinks
37%
Metals
6%
Miscellaneous
6%
Pharmaceuticals
9%
Electronics
9%
Alcohol
6%
Cosmetics/Personal
Care
3%
Consumer
Care
3%
Auto/Parts
6%
Building/Industrial
3%
Figure 18 - Canada Theft by Product Type
Trends and Modi Operandi
Organized Crime - Cargo theft gangs travel from city to city to follow important loads
and even hire licensed commercial drivers to transport lucrative cargo from one end of
the country to the other if a buyer can be lined up in advance.
Truck Stops - Cargo thefts that occur at truck stops are often carried out by
opportunistic criminals. Drivers who leave their cargo unattended and unsecured at
these locations will often fall victim to cargo criminals.
Warehouse Burglary - Criminals target high-value products stored in warehouses.
Cargo theft gangs often conspire with employees at the facility or get one of their own
gang members hired at the targeted warehouse in order to obtain necessary
information on alarms, cameras and other security measures in place.
Case Study
One cannot discuss Canadian cargo theft in 2012 without mentioning the facility
burglary of some $30 million USD in maple syrup from the Global Strategic Maple
Reserve in Quebec. Discovered in late July and likely having taken place over several
days or weeks, six million pounds (16,000 barrels) of syrup were siphoned into tanker
trucks and hauled off. The empty barrels were either refilled with water or left empty
and restacked at the top, only to be discovered later when an inventory was conducted.
2013 Global Cargo Theft Threat Assessment 20
While some of the stolen syrup was lost, approximately two-thirds of the total was
recovered in Sedgwick, New Brunswick.
Mexico
Cargo theft continues to be one of the most serious threats to the supply chain industry
in Mexico, with yearly losses estimated in the billions of dollars. As cargo theft incidents
continue to rise, some aspects remain constant: Food/Drinks and the Building/Industrial
sectors are the most targeted, hijacking is the preferred M.O., and the same cities
repeatedly claim the highest incident levels. Cargo theft continues to be at its highest
within metropolitan areas, making it easier for thieves to store, sell and distribute the
stolen goods.
Central Mexico, the Gulf Coast and the northeastern areas are at highest risk of cargo
theft in the country, while all areas are affected by high crime levels.
Figure 19 - Mexico Heat Map
Mexico, especially the country’s north, began experiencing an increase in thefts of
Metals, mainly steel, in 2012. One company in Coahuila state reported 33 thefts of
steel plates within the seven-month period from January through July.
Rail thefts are also a concern in Mexico. In 2012, thieves were known to board trains in
limited-speed areas and toss products to the side of the tracks for their accomplices to
collect. There also were reported cases in which thieves stole cargo after removing or
breaking railroad ties in order to cause the derailment of a high-speed train. In other
cases, they placed obstacles on the tracks to force a train to stop.
Unconfirmed rumors have recently surfaced in Northern Mexico that criminals are
charging drivers a “right to pass” tax. According to the rumor, drivers are forced to pay
2013 Global Cargo Theft Threat Assessment 21
anywhere from $75 to $120 USD at makeshift road blocks in order to continue safely to
their destination.
Modi Operandi
By far the prefered M.O. of cargo criminals is hijacking, as it encompassed 83% of all
recorded incidents in 2012. The next highest M.O., with only 5% of all thefts, was theft
of trailer. Other far less common methods, falling between 3% and 5% of the total, were
theft from trailer, rail theft, warehouse burglaries and deceptive stops, which involves
getting a truck to stop by using fake police or military vehicles and/or thieves wearing
clothing with the insignias of police or other law enforcement.
The most prevalent method used by hijackers in Mexico is all-out assault on a shipment
in-transit. Criminals use their vehicles as obstacles to force a driver to stop in the
middle of the road or at a stoplight. At this point the armed criminals either force the
driver into another vehicle or force him to drive the cargo to a different location. The
thieves then transfer the load into another trailer for transport to a storage facililty. Most
often the driver is then taken to a secluded location and released with only minor
injuries.
The most prevalent
method used by
hijackers in Mexico
is an all-out assault
on a shipment intransit.
Although drivers are rarely killed in Mexico, the director of the National Association of
Private Tranportation (La Asociación Nacional de Transporte Privado) was quoted in
2012 as saying incidents are becoming more violent, and “some drivers have been
killed.” Violent and armed confrontations, however, are far less frequent than in some
other Latin American countries, including Brazil.
By State
FreightWatch recorded 1,519 confirmed cargo theft incidents in Mexico for 2012, each
including detailed information about the product type, location of the theft and the loss
value. Based on these records, FreightWatch has identified trends that illustrate how
the cargo theft picture is changing from one year to the next.
Most of the recorded incidents in 2012 occurred in the highly populated State of
Mexico, including the capital city, and the northern border state of Nuevo Leon. Cargo
theft is concentrated in these areas because they are centers of industry and/or
distribution hubs for cargo within the country.
2013 Global Cargo Theft Threat Assessment 22
Figure 20 - Mexico Interactive Map
FreightWatch records show the central and northeastern sections of the country hold
the highest concentrations of cargo theft incidents. The map above illustrates hot spots
for cargo theft in Mexico during 2012. Click on the map for an interactive version.
Thefts by Product Type
Building/Industrial
20%
Miscellaneous
14%
Chemicals
9%
Auto/Parts
7%
Unknown
7%
Electronics
3%
Alcohol
Food/Drinks
27%
3%
Cash-in-transit
(CIT)
1%
Tobacco
2%
Pharmaceuticals Home/Garden
1%
2%
Consumer Care
2%
Clothing/Shoes
2%
Figure 21 - Mexico Theft by Product Type
2013 Global Cargo Theft Threat Assessment 23
The product type most targeted by thieves varies somewhat by region in Mexico.
Electronics thefts now tend to occur more frequently near metropolitan areas in the
center of the country, while in the industrialized north, steel and other products in the
Metals category are more targeted. In general, however, high-value items and foods
continue to be among the most stolen cargo — as these are easiest for thieves to sell.
High-Risk Highways
Some of Mexico’s highways,
especially in or around the major
metropolitan areas, are notorious
for cargo crime. Among the most
dangerous stretches are:
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
F.
G.
H.
I.
J.
K.
México-Veracruz
México-Puebla toll road
Orizaba-Veracruz toll road
México–Ciudad Hidalgo
Córdoba-Minatitlán
México-San José Iturbide
México-Querétaro
Querétaro-San Luis
Matehuala-Saltillo
Monterrey- Nuevo Laredo
México-Guadalajara
Verified cargo theft incidents are
hard to count in Mexico. In 2012
the Mexican Secretariat of
Government (Secretaría de
Gobernación) published an official
report confirming 4,715 cargo theft
incidents nationwide for the year.
This report, however, is compiled
using
information provided by the
Figure 22 - Mexico High-RIsk Highways
individual states, which do not
always differentiate between cases
of general theft and cargo theft, or crimes that target transport trucks, passenger
vehicles and even public buses, for example.
With cargo theft continuing to increase at double-digit rates from one year to the next,
and violence on the rise in Mexico as well, some cargo transportation companies have
opted to close their doors rather than continue facing loss after loss. Some of the
smaller transport companies, in fact, are simply finding it too expensive to operate, as
in some instances it is not just their cargo that is stolen but the truck as well. Likewise,
growing danger on the roads has caused some drivers to retire early or to opt for a
career change.
2013 Global Cargo Theft Threat Assessment 24
Central and South America
Cargo theft varied throughout Central and South America in 2012. Some countries
continued to experience an increase in theft cases, while others quite extraordinarily
saw cargo theft decrease. Among those were Argentina, Guatemala and Colombia.
Brazil continued to present this region’s most serious risk to cargo security — and its
most violent — last year.
Because of the violence involved, the majority of cargo theft incidents in South America
were once again classified as hijackings. Though most of these incidents resulted in
the release of drivers after the thieves secured the stolen shipment, incidents resulting
in the driver’s death did occur. This was especially the case in Peru, where more than
50% of all hijackings resulted in the serious injury or death of the driver. For this reason
more and more companies are resorting to hiring armed guards. While this proactive
effort certainly can thwart thieves, it also led to armed confrontations in 2012 that in
some instances ended in the death of the guards, the criminals, or both. Of all the
countries that keep cargo theft records in South America, Brazil remained the top
location for violent hijackings.
Brazil continued to
present the region’s
most serious, and
violent, risk to cargo
security in 2012.
Even though most cargo theft incidents involved hijacking, other methods also were
used to steal cargo. Theft by deception was among these secondary favorites. In this
M.O., criminals posing as police officers or military personnel set up fake road blocks or
checkpoints, and then they force the stopped drivers out of their trucks and steal the
cargo.
Faced with the mounting cargo crime scourge, individual countries in South American
are starting to pay more attention to this issue. This was most evident in Colombia,
which experienced a decrease in cargo crime rates after it increased police presence
on the highways. In Brazil, authorities also have begun to increase efforts to thwart
cargo thieves across the country.
Brazil
Brazil in 2012 retained its standing as one of the most violent countries in the world in
regard to cargo crime. Cargo thieves in this country have little regard for human life,
and even less for law enforcement authorities, and they do not hesitate to use
weapons.
Official national statistics for all of 2012 have not been released, but the average of
theft totals from the previous two years makes Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro the top
two states for cargo theft in the country, with a combined 84% of the total reported and
recorded incidents. Historically, cargo theft is estimated to cost the Brazilian economy
R$900 million ($442 million USD) each year. Moreover, the domestic website Brazil
Truck Driver (brasilcaminhoneiro.com.br) quoted one industry professional as saying
cargo theft gangs are becoming increasingly specialized and are using technology to
carry out their crimes.
2013 Global Cargo Theft Threat Assessment 25
According to the National
Association of Cargo
Transport and Logistics
(Associação Nacional do
Transporte de Cargas e
Logística), the most
targeted product types in
Brazil are Food/Drinks,
Electronics, Tobacco and
Pharmaceuticals. Due to
their ease of sale, these
stolen goods ultimately
make their way to
consumers via the
marketplace —through
legitimate stores or the
black market.
Hijacking continues
to be the primary
Method employed by
Brazil’s notoriously
violent cargo thieves.
Figure 23 - Brazil Heat Map
Trends and Modi Operandi
Hijacking continues to be the primary method employed by Brazil’s notoriously violent
cargo thieves — who are known to carry far better weaponry than police and armed
security escorts. Given this state of affairs, it is not uncommon to see shootouts
between thieves and either police or escorts.
As companies work to improve security on cargo in-transit, thieves are finding ways to
circumvent security measures. Hence, the use of GPS jammers to disable electronic
monitoring devices is growing more common, and authorities are recovering jammers
when they manage to apprehend suspects in failed hijacking attempts.
Most Targeted Highways
According to latest statistics available from the Department of Public Safety (Secretaria
da Segurança Pública) and the Cargo Transporters Union of Sao Paulo State
(Sindicato das Empresas de Transporte de Cargas de São Paulo e Região SETCESP), about 25% of all hijackings on the state’s highways take place on two
sections of the BR-116, the President Dutra between the cities of Sao Paulo and Rio de
Janeiro, and the Regis Bittencourt between Sao Paulo and Curitiba. Their proximity to
the major cities, offering a wide assortment of distribution possibilities for stolen loads,
makes these roadways particularly attractive to thieves.
In an attempt to curb cargo theft in the area of Sao Paulo state, the Federal Highway
Police (Polícia Rodoviária Federal) say they have increased the number of agents
monitoring highways by 30% since October 2012.
Venezuela
2013 Global Cargo Theft Threat Assessment 26
According to Venezuelan media reports, the area of this country with the highest cargo
theft rates in 2012 was the
capital city of Caracas. Also
in Caracas state, the
Central Regional Highway,
which connects the capital
with the industrial cities of
Maracay, La Victoria and
Valencia, experienced a
high number of thefts.
Cargo thieves operating in
Caracas state targeted a
range of product types in
2012. In the Clothes/Shoes
category, shoes were the
prime target; Cell phones
were popular in the
Figure 24 - Venezuela Heat Map
Electronics product type;
Wine, beer and liquors
were targeted in the Alcohol category. Thieves also made off with sugar, coffee,
chemicals, metals and wood.
In addition to Caracas state, high cargo theft rates were recorded in Miranda,
Amazonas, Bolivar, Apure and Carabobo states.
Cargo Theft Trends and Techniques
Most gangs operating in Venezuela today are sophisticated, employing technology to
thwart attempts to track them and exploiting relationships with corrupt police officers to
carry out their criminal activities. Thus, the fake police method — in some cases
involving the use of genuine police uniforms provided by complicit officers — was one
of the most popular M.O.s employed by Venezuelan thieves last year. Furthermore, the
growing use of GPS jammers among cargo criminals has become a major problem for
companies operating in the country.
In addition to cargo theft, other factors affect supply chain operations in Venezuela. For
instance, blockades of main highways resulting from political unrest affected business
operations in the city of Caracas in 2012. Violence generated by drug cartels and wellestablished street gangs is responsible for a consistent increase in annual crime rates.
Case studies
On November 16, police apprehended 11 members of a large cargo theft gang in
connection with the theft of a load of wine from a public parking lot in Caracas. In that
incident, thieves escaped with the truck, the driver and his load, valued at 300,000
VEF ($47,713 USD), but released the driver unharmed about three hours after the
attack in the municipality of Caucagua, Miranda state. Police believe the captured
2013 Global Cargo Theft Threat Assessment 27
suspects belonged to a gang that sells stolen products on the black market and was
responsible for 10 additional hijackings in the cities of Guarenas, Guatire and
Caucagua in Miranda state.
On December 20, armed thieves hijacked an armored truck, kidnapped the driver and
escaped with more than 5 million VEF ($795,228 USD) from a company in the
municipality of Baruta, Miranda state. The driver was parked, collecting the cash, when
two thieves jumped into the cab and ordered him to drive away. The whereabouts of
the driver remain unknown.
Argentina
Available data indicates Argentina experienced a 29%
decrease in the number of recorded cargo thefts from
2011 to 2012, dropping from 1,707 incidents to 1,211 last
year. This reduction is directly related to the country’s
declining economic situation, since the reduced demand
for products translates to fewer trucks for thieves to
target. In addition, cargo thieves have started to target
larger shipments, with larger monetary gains, rather than
focus on many smaller shipments.
In Argentina, cargo theft incidents are concentrated in
Buenos Aires Province, which is comprised of Greater
Buenos Aires (city of Buenos Aires and its outlying
districts), as well as the surrounding Federal Capital
district. In 2012, 79% of recorded cargo theft incidents
occurred in Buenos Aires Province, with more than 50%
occurring in Greater Buenos Aires (GBA).
By Product Type
Figure 25 - Argentina Heat Map
In Argentina 20% of all thefts in 2012 were categorized as Miscellaneous, or general
cargo, meaning the stolen products did not fall into any of the FreightWatch-specified
product types and/or thefts or because shipments consisted of several product types.
Package delivery services, for example, often combine several product types. The
second highest product type stolen last year was Food/Drinks with 18% of all recorded
incidents. A total of 16% of all recorded incidents were filed without a specified product
type.
2013 Global Cargo Theft Threat Assessment 28
Theft By Product Type
Pharmaceuticals
8%
Electronics
12%
Clothing/Shoes
11%
Home/Garden
Consumer Care
5%
3%
Auto/Parts
2%
Building/Industrial
2%
Unknown
16%
Food/Drinks
18%
Miscellaneous
20%
Chemicals
2%
Alcohol
1%
Tobacco
0%
Cash-in-transit (CIT)
0%
Source: AssistCargo
Figure 26 - Argentina Theft by Product Type
High-Risk Highways
A. National Routes 12 from
Puerto Iguazu to Posadas, 14
from Bernardo de Irigoyen to
Zarate and 127 from Paso de
los Libres to Parana
B. National Routes 11 from
Clorinda to Rosario, 19 from
Cordoba to Santa Fe and 158
from Villa Maria to San
Francisco; Santa Fe Province
Routes 6, 7 and 13
C. National Routes 7 from
Mendoza to Buenos Aires and
40 (runs south to Rio Gallegos
covering western Argentina)
Figure 27 - Argentina High-Risk Highways
2013 Global Cargo Theft Threat Assessment 29
Guatemala
Continuing a three-year trend,
Guatemala City and the town of Palin,
both in Escuintla Department, reported
the highest cargo theft activity in 2012.
As in most other Latin American
countries that experience high cargo
theft rates, criminals most commonly
targeted trucks in-transit, especially
those traveling along three main national
highways. Thus, the Inter-American
Highway (CA-1), the Atlantic Highway
(CA-9) and the Pacific Highway (CA-2)
continued to be hot spots for cargo theft
in Guatemala last year.
Figure 28 - Guatemala Heat Map
Collusion between
warehouse
employees, security
guard, drivers and
large organized
gangs remained a
problem in
Guatemala last year.
Cargo thieves operating in Guatemala
followed the same principal M.O. in 2012 that they preferred in the previous three-year
period. In this method, the thieves intercept the targeted truck and use weapons or the
threat of violence to force the driver to stop. Most gangs employing this M.O. in 2012
kept the truck along with the cargo and then sold the truck’s parts on the black market.
Cargo Theft Trends and Techniques
Recent industry reports indicate that there was a decrease in cargo thefts against
domestic trucking companies in 2012 compared with 2011. On the other hand, the
number of trucks traveling into Guatemala from other South and Central American
countries increased in 2012 compared to the previous year. According to the
Association of Cargo Transporters (Asociacion de Transporte de Carga), thieves
targeting international cargo often attacked late at night at truck stops near the CA-1 or
on the outskirts of Guatemala City.
Collusion among warehouse employees, security guards, drivers and large organized
gangs remained a main problem in Guatemala last year. In November, police caught
two security guards shortly after they hijacked a load of flour dough that belonged to
the company that hired them to provide private escort services. The theft took place
along the Pacific route in the town of Palin. The driver told police that the two guards
intercepted his truck and forced him into the escort vehicle. The driver was abandoned
in the middle of the highway a few minutes after the hijacking and quickly reported the
incident to police. Thanks to the driver and a GPS device, police located the thieves
and recovered the load.
2013 Global Cargo Theft Threat Assessment 30
Case Studies
On August 25, four heavily armed cargo thieves hijacked a truck loaded with plastic
bottle caps. The driver and a security guard escorting the truck were attacked and held
captive inside a van for two hours. The thieves abandoned the stolen truck as soon as
they discovered that the trailer did not contain the load of sport shoes they mistakenly
believed they had been following for more than three hours.
Security in Columbia
is drastically
improving, and
should continue into
2013.
On August 30, two cargo thieves hijacked a truck loaded with paint valued at 40,000
GTQ ($5,120 USD) near kilometer 105 along the Escuintla-Antigua Guatemala route.
Six months after the theft, Civil Police recovered the stolen truck in the municipality of
Villa Nueva, Guatemala Department, having stopped the driver for a traffic violation.
The thief caught driving the truck confessed to membership in a large cargo theft gang
with links to drug cartels.
Colombia
Colombia today is safer than it was in 2011.
President Santos Calderon and Defense Minister
Pinzon Bueno both stated that crime overall
decreased from 2011 to 2012. Cargo theft
appears to have followed the national trend, with
the defense minister stating preliminary statistics
showed a reduction in cargo theft of as much as
23% compared with 2011 (elcolombiano.com).
Security in Colombia is drastically improving, and
should continue into 2013, with President Santos
Calderon announcing the hiring of 1,000 new
officers in the Cali Metropolitan Police
Department (Policia Metropolitana de Cali).
Though incidents are decreasing, Colombia still
has its share of cargo theft incidents, with most
Figure 29 - Columbia Heat Map
continuing to occur in or around the major
industrial cities of Medellin, Cali and Bogota and along major highways. Some cases,
though, are related to poor logistical practices, according to the Allianz Insurance Co.
There is no clear picture as to which product types are most targeted in Colombia.
According to fierros.com, an online and print magazine focusing on the hardware and
Building/Industrial sectors, cargo theft in these areas increased in 2012, though the
report did not elaborate.
At one time riddled with crime, Colombia now appears to be a safer country both for
average citizens and the supply chain industry. This is the result of serious government
efforts to increase the number of security forces and mount more anti-crime operations.
In September, Bogota’s transit and transportation unit announced it had dismantled 31
cargo theft gangs for the year, compared with 15 during the same time period in 2011.
2013 Global Cargo Theft Threat Assessment 31
In Santander state, 316 cargo thieves reportedly had been arrested between January
and August 2012.
Case Studies
Bogota police in April arrested 26 members of five different cargo theft gangs that
mainly targeted highways in the departments of Valle del Cauca, Tolima, Boyacá and
Cundinamarca. Authorities believe these groups were responsible for thefts amounting
to about $1.7 million USD in under six months. In addition to the arrests, authorities
confiscated fake police uniforms, transit signs, emergency cones, several barricades
and firearms.
Another Bogota-based gang of cargo thieves was dismantled in September, ending a
nine-month spree that had netted the gang 14 trucks. The gang also employed the fake
police M.O. to stop trucks in-transit. The gang would transport drivers to secluded
locations and detain them until the stolen cargo was secured.
Peru
In 2012, the Peruvian capital city of
Lima and the greater Lima Province
reported the highest volume of cargo
theft in the country. Among the
reported products most stolen in Lima
were Metals and fuels, as well as
sugar, coffee and other agricultural
products.
Cargo theft in Peru is very violent, as
most thieves are opportunistic and
never hesitate to use weapons during
the attacks. Approximately 50% of all
cargo thefts reported by the media
during 2012 resulted in the serious
injury or death of the driver involved.
Most thieves prefer to shoot at trailers
from the side of the highway to force
Figure 30 - Peru Heat Map
drivers to stop, rather than going to the
bother of setting up roadblocks or obtaining police uniforms like most of their South
American counterparts. Thieves employing this method lie in wait behind trees or
fences near the highways or in areas where trucks travel slowly. They begin shooting
as a trailer approaches and continue firing until the driver pulls over or escapes.
On the other hand, also operating in Peru are small groups of less-violent organized
cargo thieves who employ the fake police M.O. On July 18, for instance, eight thieves
wearing police uniforms stole a truck loaded with computer accessories valued at
$50,000 USD. The theft occurred around noon after the driver pulled over for what he
believed was a routine cargo inspection on a highway in Los Olivos District, Lima
2013 Global Cargo Theft Threat Assessment 32
Province. The owner of the load, however, notified police after the truck failed to arrive
at its destination on time. With the aid of a GPS device hidden inside the trailer,
authorities were able to track and recover the load.
In the majority of such incidents involving theft by deception, drivers are held captive
inside the stolen trailer and released after the thieves secure the load.
Another incident involving the fake police M.O. occurred on November 25 near
kilometer 181 on the north Pan-American Highway. In that case, the driver was
attacked after he pulled over for an “inspection” and held for six hours in Chancay,
about 40 miles north of Lima. The freed driver immediately reported the theft and, once
again, police recovered the load thanks to a GPS unit inside the trailer.
Case Studies
On March 12 near the Lurigancho-Choisca district of Lima Province, police
apprehended three members of a cargo theft gang shortly after they hijacked a truck
loaded with copper oxide worth 200,000 PEN ($77,190 USD). The hijacking, which took
place near kilometer 20 of the south Pan-American Highway, was reported to police by
another truck driver who witnessed the event. The incident ended in a shootout
between officers and thieves, and recovery of the full load.
2013 Global Cargo Theft Threat Assessment 33
Europe
Cargo theft incidents reported in Europe in 2012 increased by almost a quarter (24%)
over those recorded in 2011 — from 555 to 689. Yet cargo crime remained heavily
underreported throughout the continent. Furthermore, official freight theft statistics
issued by governments and law enforcement bodies remained extremely poor in most
European countries despite efforts by various authorities, mainly in The Netherlands
and Belgium, to collect and publicize such data. Central and Eastern Europe, in
particular, remained a black hole in terms of cargo theft information.
Belgium, Germany, The Netherlands, Italy and France continued to be the focal point of
cargo crime in Western Europe, with the United Kingdom (UK), Spain and Austria also
recording high rates of theft. The UK, which experienced the most recorded thefts in
2011, dropped to sixth place in 2012 due to a massive drop in reporting after the
disappearance of Truckpol, its national freight crime intelligence unit. The Netherlands,
meanwhile, moved up strongly on the list of Europe’s most targeted countries due to
exceptionally good reporting from Dutch police (Korps landelijke politiediensten-KLPD).
Like the previous year, theft from trailer at unsecured parking and truck stops by means
of cutting the curtain or breaking the lock stood out as the most popular type of incident
and M.O. throughout Europe. In fact, not a single country was spared from this type of
theft, which continued to be facilitated by the lack of secure overnight parking in
Europe. Electronics (smartphones in particular) was the most stolen product category
in 2012, followed by Consumer Care, Clothes/Shoes and Food/Drinks.
Cargo criminals in Europe became better organized and more aggressive as they
increasingly targeted high-value shipments in 2012. In many instances, the targets of
these high-value thefts were carefully identified in advance, even at secured locations.
Thefts also became more violent, especially In France and Italy, where the number of
hijackings and facility robberies soared in 2012. Deceptive pickups also increased
throughout Europe, very often involving fake transportation companies originating in
Central and Eastern Europe but occasionally in Western Europe, Italy in particular.
Thefts from moving trucks became more widespread as well last year.
The Europe and Africa portions of the Global Threat Assessment are developed by
FreightWatch in partnership with the Transported Asset Protection Association (TAPA)
EMEA. TAPA EMEA has approved the use of this data for publication in this report.
2013 Global Cargo Theft Threat Assessment 34
About FreightWatch and TAPA EMEA
FreightWatch has collected cargo theft intelligence and produced reports for the region
since 2006. In November 2010, the FreightWatch Intelligence Division was awarded
the TAPA EMEA IIS contract, expanding its intelligence function in the region for TAPA
members and partner organizations, including law enforcement agencies.
TAPA represents businesses fighting back against cargo crime that want to use real‐
time intelligence and the latest preventive measures to protect goods in the supply
chain. TAPA is a unique forum that unites global manufacturers, logistics providers,
freight carriers, law enforcement agencies, and other stakeholders with the common
aim of reducing losses from international supply chains.
The association’s mission is to help protect its members’ assets by:
•
Exchanging information on a global and regional basis
•
Cooperating on preventative security
•
Increasing support from the logistics and freight industry and from law
enforcement agencies and governments
•
Promoting and enhancing TAPA’s globally recognized and applied security
requirement
2013 Global Cargo Theft Threat Assessment 35
Germany
Germany is the most
attractive place for
cargo thieves in
Europe.
For many reasons Germany is
probably the most attractive place
for cargo thieves in Europe. The
economy continued to grow in
2012 and industrial output was
high, whereas the rest of Europe
struggled with the ongoing
economic crisis. As a
consequence, the volume of highvalue goods shipped throughout
Germany, especially by road, rose
by more than 5% in 2012. In
addition to strong domestic
activity, Germany is Europe’s
main transit hub for both eastwest and north-south cargo traffic.
German highways are packed
with valuable shipments, which
naturally attract criminal gangs,
especially from Eastern European Figure 31 - Germany Heat Map
countries. Geographic proximity
and fast road connections mean stolen goods can easily and quickly be slipped into
Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Romania or Ukraine, where they are sold or
stored.
German police very actively combat freight theft and several gangs were broken up in
2012. However, weaknesses such as a serious shortage of well-lighted and fully
secured parking areas and rest stops along even the busiest highways make it
relatively easy for criminals to steal from trailers, especially during the night.
Although Germany does not release official cargo theft statistics, it is fair to say that
cargo crime in Germany worsened in 2012, based on incidents reported by media and
local police departments as well as our database. In this database, numbers more than
doubled in the space of 12 months, from just 51 in 2011 to 124 in 2012. A report
presented by a former German federal police officer at the 5th Logistics Conference in
Stuttgart on November 12 said Germany accounts for almost half of the total loss value
of all cargo thefts recorded in the European Union. The former officer’s data showed
that on average “a cargo theft is committed every 10 minutes in Germany,” either from
a truck or at a facility/warehouse, and that more than five loaded trucks or trailers are
stolen every day. He also said that some 1,891 trucks or trailers (loaded and empty)
were stolen in Germany in 2011.
Truck drivers in southern Germany also have had to beware of another serious threat:
a sniper has opened fire on more than 700 trucks over the past three years. The
attacks, targeting mainly car transporters on six highways, especially the A3, A5 and
2013 Global Cargo Theft Threat Assessment 36
In Germany, a sniper
has opened fire on
more than 700 trucks
over the past three
years.
A61, have left one person seriously injured. The sniper, whose motivation remains a
mystery, has not been apprehended.
Hot Spots
North-Rhine Westphalia (NRW), the most western and also most populous and
industrialized of the 16 German federal states, was the state most targeted by cargo
thieves in 2012. According to the FreightWatch database, NRW had almost twice as
many theft incidents as Hesse, the second most targeted state, in 2012. These two
states were followed by Lower Saxony, which had topped the list of most targeted
states in 2011. Bavaria in the south of the country came in fourth place. Interestingly,
all four high-risk states are in the area that was West Germany before the country’s
reunification in 1990. Indeed, all eastern federal states — including the capital of Berlin
—had considerably fewer reported cargo crime incidents in 2012 than the western part.
This is most certainly due to the lower economic development and therefore less
logistics activity in the former Communist part of Germany.
Saxony and Thuringia were the eastern regions most targeted by cargo thieves in
2012, followed by Brandenburg and Saxony-Anhalt. Berlin, although economically welldeveloped and bustling, as well as the Free State of Hamburg, a top hub for cargo
traffic due to its port, had very few reported cargo thefts. Since cargo crime is
notoriously heavy in port areas, this seems a clear indication that crime of this nature is
heavily underreported in Germany, too.
The most northern states of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and Schleswig-Holstein also
had only a few incidents reported.
Theft by Product Type
Almost one-third (31%) of all recorded cargo thefts in Germany in 2012 were related to
the Building/Industrial sector. Metals, especially copper, were the most sought-after
products in this category, accounting for 50% of all Building/Industrial thefts. The sharp
spike in the price of copper has provoked a wave of Metal thefts, with dozens of thefts
occurring every day throughout the country. The largest theft occurred on September
17, most probably during the night, when several thieves broke into a company building
and its attached warehouse in Brühl, North-Rhine Westphalia. The gang stole a
company truck on which they loaded a total of six tons of copper (300 cable reels of 20
kilograms each) by using a forklift they also found in the warehouse. The loss value
was estimated at €1 million ($1.3 million USD). In May, German police announced the
breakup of a gang of Polish thieves that had stolen copper worth some €60,000
($80,000 USD) from a construction site in Schwenningen.
Tools, construction materials and heavy machinery were also stolen frequently in
Germany in 2012. Interestingly, the month of August, the most popular holiday month
when most construction businesses are traditionally closed, saw a seasonal peak in the
number of thefts of high-value tools and construction materials, both from unattended
construction sites and company premises. On August 3, for instance, several thieves
broke into the premises of a construction company in Wedel, Schleswig-Holstein,
2013 Global Cargo Theft Threat Assessment 37
during the night and stole construction machines and tools from a trailer. The loss value
was €100,000 ($133,000 USD).
Consumer Care items, especially brand-name fragrances and skin care products, were
stolen in 14% of all recorded freight thefts in Germany, just ahead of the Food/Drinks
th
category (13%), in which coffee was most targeted. Every 10 cargo theft in 2012
targeted the Auto/Parts sector, tires in particular, which is not surprising given the high
number of automobile manufacturers in Germany.
Only a few theft incidents involving Tobacco were recorded in Germany in 2012. One of
these thefts occurred August 15, when a full truckload of cigarettes disappeared after a
deceptive pickup. The loss value was estimated at several hundred thousand euros.
Theft by Product Type
Clothes/Shoes
8%
Auto/Parts
10%
Food/Drinks
13%
Consumer Care
14%
Tobacco
2%
Building/
Industrial
31%
Electronics
22%
Figure 32 - Germany Theft by Product Type
Trends and Techniques
Cargo crime in Germany was predominantly nonviolent in 2012 — in stark contrast to
neighboring countries such as France and Italy, where violence is a regular and
growing phenomenon in cargo theft. Thieves in Germany tend to prefer
nonconfrontational methods, focusing more on theft from trailer, facility burglary or theft
of trailer.
2013 Global Cargo Theft Threat Assessment 38
Theft by Type of Event
Deceptive Pickup
6%
Theft of Trailer
21%
Theft from
Trailer
44%
Facility Burglary
29%
Figure 33 - Germany Theft by Type of Event
43% of all incidents recorded in Germany in 2012 were thefts from trailer. More than
80% of them occurred in unsecured parking areas and at truck stops, predominantly by
intrusion. This type of event happens typically during the night while the driver sleeps in
his cab. In recent months there were several media reports throughout Europe, as well
as police reports in Germany (Lower-Saxony, for instance), about incidents in which
thieves were believed to have used a gas or another substance to knock out drivers
while they slept in their cabins. Nobody seems to know exactly what substance is used,
but it is believed that the gas is sprayed into the cabin through the vehicle’s ventilation
system or through the door seal. Drivers feel dizzy and sick when they wake up and
notice that their trailer has been opened. Reports on such incidents are not new in
Europe.
Though all federal states were concerned with canvas-cutting gangs, some hot spots
stood out in 2012. For instance, drivers who patronize the Autohof Mogendorf truck
stop on the A3 highway between Cologne and Frankfurt repeatedly fell victim to theft.
On November 6, a driver parked overnight at the truck stop was drugged, likely with
gas, by criminals who subsequently deactivated the trailer’s door alarm system and cut
the security steel lock with an oxy acetylene torch. The driver’s load of consumer
Electronics, on its way from The Netherlands to Romania, disappeared. The loss value
was €320,000 ($426,000 USD). The Euro Rastpark Lippetal truck stop on the A2
2013 Global Cargo Theft Threat Assessment 39
highway between Bielefeld and Dortmund in North-Rhine Westphalia state also had a
high number of intrusion incidents in 2012, many of them targeting televisions.
Facility burglaries accounted for 28% of all recorded incidents in Germany last year,
while 20% were listed as theft of trailer. These thefts very often occurred at company
premises, often during weekends, as well as from unsecured rest areas and parking.
The number of thefts by deceptive pickups increased in 2012 to seven recorded
incidents from two in 2011. These incidents very often involved fake carriers
established by criminals from Eastern European countries.
Probably the most absurd theft to occur in Germany last year took place June 4 at a
company in Hanau, Hesse state. In the middle of the night a man approached the
onsite security guard and requested the keys to a van that was parked inside the
secured facility. Assuming the man either worked for the company or had been asked
by the company to pick up the van, the guard simply handed over the keys. The thief
was allowed to drive away with the vehicle, which was loaded with silver pipes worth
€650,000 ($866,000 USD). The empty van was found three days later in a parking lot
on the A3 highway.
Incident numbers are
clearly on the rise in
France.
France
Cargo crime is a very serious and
disconcerting issue in France, and
incident numbers are clearly on
the rise. Official data published by
the French National Observatory
of Crime and Criminal Responses
(L'Observatoire national de la
délinquance et des réponses
pénales-ONDRP) shows that an
average of about 35 thefts of
loaded trucks or trailers were
reported to police every month in
2012. Over the whole year, more
than 400 such incidents were
recorded, compared with fewer
than 300 in 2011. The 2012
annual ONDRP report indicates
that the number of thefts of trailer Figure 34 - France Heat Map
with load increased by more than
30% between 2011 and 2012. This is without taking into account the surely high
number of unreported incidents. Cargo crime in France, as elsewhere in Europe,
remains massively underreported.
The number of burglaries in industrial, commercial and financial facilities stabilized in
2012 compared with 2011. On average, more than 5,000 such burglaries are reported
2013 Global Cargo Theft Threat Assessment 40
every month in France but this overall figure does not tell in how many cases cargo
was actually stolen. Violent robberies in industrial parks and warehouses, however,
increased by more than 5% in 2012 compared with the previous year. For example, on
July 28, seven hooded and armed thieves broke onto the premises of a perfume
manufacturer in the city of Beauvais, about 50 miles north of Paris. They overpowered
the only guard present and loaded pallets of high-quality perfume worth €1 million ($1.3
million USD) into two trailers they had previously stolen. ONDRP figures show that on
average some 220 such armed robberies are reported to police every month. The
same upward trend has been witnessed in thefts from construction sites.
The biggest cargo
theft in France – and
all of Europe –
occurred on
December 7 when a
truck transporting
mobile phones was
hijacked in Paris.
In 2012, the biggest cargo theft in France — and all of Europe — occurred on
December 7 when a truck transporting mobile phones worth more than €8 million
($10.6 million USD) was hijacked in Paris. According to French media, as the driver
exited the A1 motorway, his loaded truck was forced to stop by several armed thieves
in another truck. The perpetrators then smashed the window of the driver’s cabin and
forced him into the back of the vehicle. The criminals drove a short while and then
hooked the trailer to their own tractor, which they had also stolen. They disappeared
with the full load, leaving the driver behind.
Hot Spots
Paris and the broader Ile de France region were clearly the most targeted areas in
France in 2012. Cargo thieves repeatedly targeted trucks in-transit or broke into
company facilities or warehouses in Aulnay-sous-Bois, Bobigny, Bonneuil, Corbeil,
Fontenay, Fresnes, Gennevilliers, Gonesse, Limeil-Brevannes, Rambouillet and Torcy.
On the other hand, Gennevilliers, a commune in the northwestern suburbs of Paris that
experienced many violent attacks on loaded trucks in May and September 2011 and
January 2012, had far fewer incidents recorded in the remainder of 2012. The drop in
theft occurrences in Gennevilliers is likely the result of the arrest of several suspected
gang members in June 2012. French police believe the gang had been a driving force
in the cargo crime scene around the Gennevilliers industrial zone.
The Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur regions on France’s eastern border also had an
increased number of incidents recorded in 2012, especially around Marseille. The
Rhone-Alpes Region was also a hot spot in 2012, with several incidents in the areas of
Lyon and the Isère Department in particular. Cargo thieves also repeatedly hit the
Brittany Region in the northwest and the Nord-Pas-de-Calais Region in the north in
2012. The Champagne-Ardenne Region in the northeast also had cargo theft incidents,
but to a lesser extent than the other regions.
Targeted Products
Renowned for its haute couture and beauty products, France in 2012 experienced a
sharp rise in the number of thefts targeting high-value Consumer Care products,
perfume in particular, as well as goods in the Clothes/Shoes product type. In fact, these
two product categories topped the list of most targeted sectors in France last year.
High-quality Food/Drinks, especially superior wines and spirits, were also very much in
2013 Global Cargo Theft Threat Assessment 41
demand by thieves. Electronics was also a popular product type among criminals in
France. As in most European countries, smartphones, computers and tablets were the
preferred products.
Theft by Product Type
Metal
10%
Miscellaneous
8%
Consumer Care
30%
Tobacco
10%
Food/Drinks
10%
Electronics
16%
Clothes/Shoes
16%
Figure 35 - France Theft by Product Type
Trends and Techniques
Not only did theft numbers soar in 2012, cargo crime in general also became much
more violent. Truck hijackings and armed robberies of company facilities and
warehouses are now a regular occurrence in France — at least in certain areas. Cargo
crime in this country seems to be shifting from random thefts from trailers — notably at
unsecured truck stops by the intrusion M.O. — toward targeted, well-organized and
violent attacks against trucks and facilities.
In 2012, the majority of the violent incidents occurred in and around Paris in the Ile de
France Region. For example, as Paris shops were closing in the early evening hours of
New Year’s Eve, four thieves armed with guns and knives forced their way through a
service entrance into a name-brand Electronics store. They injured one of the store’s
three employees with a knife, and then loaded smartphones, laptops and tablets from
the basement storeroom into a van they had parked nearby. The thieves escaped with
goods valued at €1 million ($1.3 million USD).
Truck hijackings in France in 2012 mostly involved forced stops carried out by heavily
armed and determined thieves. In Aulnay-sous-Bois (near Paris) on July 6, two truck
drivers transporting a load of computers were attacked at gunpoint by three to four
heavily armed criminals who had blocked the road with their car. The thieves took
2013 Global Cargo Theft Threat Assessment 42
control of the truck and drove off, releasing the two drivers a short time later in a nearby
wooded area.
Cosmetics, fragrance in particular, was the product most sought after by violent thieves
in France, followed by Electronics, mostly computers and smartphones. Violence was
also a factor in some attacks against Tobacco shipments in 2012.
A particularly alarming trend last year was an increase in cargo theft incidents at
French airports. Paris Charles de Gaulle (CDG) and Marseille-Marignane were
particularly in the spotlight. On November 15, armed and hooded thieves managed to
enter the “secure” perimeter of CDG airport and hijack a truck containing 20 tons of
luxury products intended for duty-free sale on outgoing aircrafts. The stolen
merchandise was valued at €500,000 ($665,000 USD). Although French police
arrested the six thieves and recovered the full load later the same day, the incident
nevertheless raised questions about airport security in France.
On August 9, five heavily armed criminals robbed a cargo aircraft as it was being
unloaded at Marseille Airport. The robbers used a stolen car to crash through the
security gate and gain access to the airport cargo area. Although apparently looking for
cash, the thieves made do with stealing two of the pilots’ bags instead. In October,
thieves cut the security fence and entered the cargo zone of the same airport in
Marseille, this time escaping with several bags of cash.
Italy
In 2012, cargo crime remained a
serious issue in Italy, although
heavily underreported and poorly
documented as very few official
statistics were available from the
government or law enforcement
authorities. The rare data published
by the Interior Ministry in 2012
indicates that in 2011 a total of
2,416 trucks and their loads were
stolen in Italy. This is more than six
per day even without considering the
likelihood that an even higher
number of thefts go unreported.
(Interior Ministry numbers for 2012
had not been released when this
report was prepared.)
Despite the bleak situation, Italy still Figure 36 - Italy Heat Map
lacks a viable government or law
enforcement strategy to tackle cargo crime, which of course means criminals face few
deterrents on those fronts. The increasing infiltration of the mafia into the Italian road
2013 Global Cargo Theft Threat Assessment 43
The highest portion
of cargo thefts
occurred in
Lombardy.
transport sector could be another explanation for the worsening cargo crime problem —
and also a reason for the increasingly violent and sophisticated incidents. Organized
crime has indeed taken advantage of the current economic crisis and the financial
difficulties many Italian road transport companies are facing by buying stakes in the
companies or taking them over completely. These enterprises are then often used as
fronts to launder money obtained by illicit means or to commit cargo theft by deception.
Hot Spots
The economically developed northern part of the country had the highest number of
incidents recorded in our 2012 database, confirming a well-documented trend over the
past couple of years. The highest portion of cargo thefts occurred in Lombardy, the
most populous and richest of Italy’s 20 regions. In Lombardy, thefts took place primarily
in and around Milan, but also in Pavia, Brescia and other smaller cities. The other
northern regions of Emilia-Romagna, Veneto, Tuscany and Lazio (home of the
country’s capital, Rome) also had considerable amounts of reported incidents.
In the south of Italy, the regions of Puglia, especially the area around Bari; Campania,
notably Naples; and Sicily topped the list of those most targeted in this part of the
country. The regions of Liguria, Molise and Piedmont had far fewer cargo thefts
reported in 2012 than the other regions. The number of unreported incidents is
considered very high in these regions as well.
These geographical variations are corroborated by Italian police figures relating to 2011
loaded truck thefts. Official reports flagged Lombardy, with 561 total thefts, as the
region most targeted in 2011, followed at some distance by Puglia’s 311 thefts, Sicily’s
266, Campania’s 247 and Lazio’s 233.
Targeted Products
Pharmaceuticals was the product type most desired by cargo thieves in Italy in 2012, at
least according to the limited number of incidents recorded in the database.
Clothes/Shoes and Food/Drinks were also very much sought-after. Food thefts were
concentrated in northern Italy, whose dynamic food processing industry sends many
high-value shipments onto the roads every day. Metals, Tobacco and Consumer Care
products were also targeted in 2012, though to a lesser extent. Electronics thefts were
relatively low in Italy last year (7%) as compared to other EMEA countries.
2013 Global Cargo Theft Threat Assessment 44
Theft by Product Type
Miscellaneous
4%
Auto/Parts
4%
Tobacco
1%
Electronics
7%
Consumer Care
9%
Pharmaceuticals
37%
Metal
10%
Food/Drinks
11%
Clothes/Shoes
17%
Figure 37 - Italy Theft by Product Type
Trends and Techniques
Cargo theft in Italy clearly became more violent in 2012. Around a quarter of all
incidents recorded for the year were hijackings, compared with only a few in 2010 and
2011. The number of armed and violent robberies of trucks and company
facilities/warehouses also soared. This trend applies to both primary and secondary, or
last-mile, distribution. Interestingly, almost all 2012 violent incidents in Italy occurred on
the roadside.
Forced stops and deceptive stops are the methods thieves employed most often to
hijack trucks last year. The criminals either blocked a roadway with vehicles to force a
driver to stop or they pretended to be police officers engaged in routine inspections to
deceive a driver into pulling over. On June 30, for example, several armed thieves used
a vehicle to block a truck transporting computers and tablets in the municipality of
Somaglia near Milan. Once the driver stopped, the thieves forced him into the
passenger seat and drove to a nearby industrial area, where they transferred 25 pallets
of the electronic devices onto several other trucks. The hijackers disappeared with the
cargo, leaving the truck and its driver behind.
On August 9 in the city of Bitonto, Puglia Region, a group of armed thieves traveling in
several cars surrounded a truck as it left the A14 motorway at the Bari North exit. The
driver was pulled from his truck and forced into the back of one of the cars. He was
released shortly afterward, but the criminals had driven away with the truck and its load
of cigarettes.
Most of the 2012 violent incidents occurred in the south. Puglia, in the southeast, was
especially targeted, with hijackings reported around Cerignola, Bitonto, Bari, Canosa di
2013 Global Cargo Theft Threat Assessment 45
Puglia, Altamura, San Ferdinando di Puglia and Modugno. Campania, in the southwest,
was also affected, especially Naples, Salerno, Acerra, Brusciano and Casoria. Violent
incidents also occurred near the cities of Palermo and Catania on the island of Sicily.
There were some reports of robberies and hijackings in northern Italy last year, but
fewer than in the south.
The largest portion of all cargo thefts recorded in Italy in 2012 targeted in-transit
shipments, notably hijackings. Unsecured parking areas throughout Italy also remained
prime theft locations, as they offer criminals an array of targets, many of them easily
breached by simply cutting the soft canvas sides of trailers under cover of darkness.
Maritime facilities also were hot spots for cargo crime in 2012, especially the ports of
Genoa in Liguria, and Catania, Sicily.
Case Studies
Although the Italian law enforcement effort to combat cargo crime may appear
lackluster at times, police forces carried out some successful operations in 2012. For
example, on November 27 in Palermo, Sicily, authorities arrested seven people
suspected in no less than 30 thefts from trailers and hijackings in the Palermo area
during the previous six months. Earlier in the year, on June 27, police arrested 19
members of two gangs believed responsible for a series of hijackings targeting trucks
and security vans in the Bari area. The gangs, which targeted Tobacco shipments in
particular, mostly used automatic rifles and other heavy weaponry to carry out their
crimes. Their M.O. was usually the same; they would pull up in a car next to the
targeted truck and point guns at the driver to force him to pull over. They then held the
driver captive until the cargo was safely unloaded, using a powerful GPS jammer to
ensure the cargo wasn’t tracked. Before the June arrests, Italian authorities had been
hunting the two gangs for almost a year.
United Kingdom
While cargo crime reporting in the UK has
been among the best in Europe for years,
the flow of information on freight theft almost
dried up after TruckPol, the UK’s national
freight crime intelligence unit, ceased
activities in March 2012.
With cargo crime reporting by police and
media at the local level traditionally sparse,
the only official statistics available thus far for
2012 came from a new Commercial
Victimization Survey (CVS) published by the
UK Home Office in January 2013. The
survey reported a stunning 324,000 crimes
nationwide against warehouses and other
facilities in the “transportation and storage
Figure 38 - UK Heat Map
2013 Global Cargo Theft Threat Assessment 46
The UK, which
experienced the
most recorded thefts
in 2011, dropped to
sixth place due to a
massive reporting
drop after the
disappearance of
Truckpol.
sector.” This sector includes businesses that transport both freight and passengers by
road (including taxis), as well as by air, sea and rail. The crimes listed in CVS include
robberies, burglaries, assaults and threats, fraud and acts of vandalism. In 26,000
reported cases, the incident involved “theft from vehicle” (without further specification),
while 2,000 incidents reported were theft of vehicle. The data does not specify whether
violence was a factor in vehicle-related thefts. According to the CVS, the UK also had
9,000 facility burglaries in the transport/storage sector in 2012, and the same number
of facility robberies. The previous CVS was published in 2002, making a direct year-toyear comparison impossible.
The number of cargo theft incidents recorded decreased considerably in 2012 as
compared with 2011 (when the number had already been lower than in the previous
year). Again, this is primarily a consequence of TruckPol’s disappearance and
continued lack of reporting, including in the media. Anecdotal evidence from industry
professionals, however, suggests that it has risen in recent years, including in 2012.
In the meantime, some UK law enforcement authorities stepped up efforts to combat
freight theft with new and innovative initiatives in 2012. In the West Midlands, a region
considered a hot spot for cargo crime in the UK, the Central Motorway Police Group
(CMPG) kicked off a sting operation aimed at catching cargo thieves in the act. Used
as “bait” in the operation was an unmarked truck equipped with 16 hidden cameras on
the inside and outside. Criminals trying to steal from the vehicle were filmed and
arrested. Similar operations in other UK regions over the past couple of years resulted
in the arrest of numerous suspects. In addition, the reputation of the CMPG unit
spread, and thieves reportedly avoided the wider area covered by the CMPG, reducing
cargo crime, police said.
Trends and Techniques
As in 2011, East England reported most of the country’s cargo theft incidents in 2012,
with 25% of the total. This is up from 20% in the previous year. South-East England
and the Greater London area shared the second position with 17% each of all incidents
recorded. East Midlands, renowned for its bustling transport and logistics sector, as
well as West Midlands, each reported 11% of the incidents. Regions such as NorthWest England, South-West, Scotland, Yorkshire, Northern Ireland and North-East
England experienced only a few cargo thefts for the year.
In 2012 almost 70% of all recorded incidents were thefts from trailer, down from 78% in
2011. Half of all the theft from trailer incidents occurred at unsecured parking areas.
This type of event, together with the location of the theft in unsecured parking, was also
the most frequent combination in 2011. Most of the thefts in unsecured parking took
place at night, by the intrusion M.O., while the drivers slept in their cabins. The
continued scarcity of secured parking areas and truck stops in the UK certainly
contributed to the high theft numbers in areas where security is lacking. Facility
burglaries, which comprised 13% of the total, were the second most reported type of
event, followed by facility robberies and theft of trailer, each with 7% of the total.
2013 Global Cargo Theft Threat Assessment 47
Around 6 p.m. on July 21, three robbers entered a warehouse in Slough, South-East
England, assaulted and tied up two employees, and escaped with five pallets of
smartphones. The stolen load was valued at €1 million ($1.2 million USD).
Hijackings remained relatively rare in the UK in 2012, with just 4% of the total,
compared with 5% the previous year. Deceptive stop was the M.O. used in the reported
hijacking with the highest loss value last year. On July 9 in the village of Cadnam,
Hampshire, in South-East England, a truck transporting Consumer Care products on
the A31 highway was hijacked at knifepoint after the driver was tricked into stopping by
a woman flashing her vehicle’s lights as if in distress. Once the truck driver stopped,
several male accomplices pulled up in another vehicle, overpowered the driver and
forced him to drive to a location near the village of Crick, Northamptonshire. Authorities
located the empty vehicle and the driver (reportedly tied up) the next morning. The loss
value was listed as €787,000 ($967,000 USD).
Theft by Type of Event
Theft of Vehicle
Facility Robbery 7%
Hijacking
4%
7%
Facility Burglary
13%
Theft from
Trailer
69%
Figure 39 - UK Theft by Type of Event
As in 2011, Electronics was the product type most targeted by thieves last year in the
UK, with 29% of all recorded incidents. Flat-screen TVs, computers, smartphones and
cameras were the most sought-after items in this category. Consumer Care items came
in second with 23%, followed by the Building/Industrial product category with 15%.
More than half of those incidents were thefts of Metals stolen for their scrap value. With
12% of the total, Clothes/Shoes was the fourth-ranked product type last year.
As in most European countries, metal thefts became “an area of increasing concern” in
the UK in 2012, according to the Home Office survey. However, there is only limited
2013 Global Cargo Theft Threat Assessment 48
reliable information available on the scope of metal theft, as it is not separated from
other kinds of thefts in police-recorded crime statistics. According to the 2012 CVS,
14% of the surveyed manufacturers said they had fallen victim to metal theft in 2012,
as did 9% of the companies in the transport and storage sector. To combat rising metal
thefts, UK lawmakers in 2012 passed the Scrap Metal Dealers Bill, which outlaws all
cash transactions at metal recycling yards across England and Wales. The law also
increased fines for those dealers who fail to abide by the rules. On October 11, UK
police also held a nationwide day of action against metal thieves, called “Operation
Tornado,” on October 11. Across the UK, police forces visited scrap metal recyclers in
a bid to tighten control on businesses that illegally trade in stolen goods. Media reports
also indicate that metal products, copper in particular, were massively stolen last year.
The proportion of Food/Drinks thefts more than doubled, from 4% in 2011 to 9% in
2012. Tobacco was also stolen in a few recorded cases, including an August 20
burglary around 1 a.m. at a warehouse in Lightwater, South-East England. In that
incident, at least four thieves, all wearing hooded jackets, broke into the warehouse
and stole “thousands of euros” worth of cigarettes, according to a police report.
Theft by Product Type
Food/Drinks
9%
Pharmaceuticals
3%
Auto/Parts
Tobacco
3%
6%
Electronics
29%
Clothes/Shoes
12%
Building/
Industrial
15%
Consumer Care
23%
Figure 40 - UK Theft by Product Type
2013 Global Cargo Theft Threat Assessment 49
Spain
About half of all
recorded theft
incidents in Spain
occurred in
unsecured parking
and rest areas.
Although cargo crime is
massively underreported
in Spain, it is believed to
be a growing threat. This
is the case despite the
fact that the number of
transport trucks on the
roads has dropped
substantially over the
past few years due to the
continuing economic
crisis. Guardia Civil,
Spain’s national police,
do not publish yearly or
monthly cargo crime
Figure 41 - Spain Heat Map
data. In 2012, however, it
stated that the number of recorded freight theft incidents in Spain is “a few hundred
cases” per year.
Trends and Techniques
Broadly speaking, about half of all 2012 cargo theft incidents recorded in Spain
occurred in unsecured parking and rest areas, the large majority of the incidents taking
place during the evening and overnight hours when drivers are asleep in their cabs.
These thefts are mostly the work of well-organized gangs of four to eight members who
travel together in two vehicles, a small one for identifying targets and a van or truck to
load the stolen cargo. The gangs also very often place lookouts at truck stop cafeterias
to monitor truck movements and identify new theft opportunities. Once they’ve chosen
a target, they cut the trailer’s soft canvas side or break the lock of a hardened trailer.
These thefts are largely nonconfrontational, as the theft is often carried out without
waking the driver. Thieves also quite often target retail shops in cities across the
country, moving in to steal goods as they are being delivered.
Violent and targeted attacks against trucks in-transit are relatively rare in Spain,
according to Guardia Civil data. Those that do occur are typically carried out by wellinformed and organized criminal gangs, mostly from Eastern European countries. The
sophisticated gangs tend to favor two modi operandi, deceptive stop and theft from a
moving truck. In the first M.O, the thieves fake a road accident or a use a fake police
car to trick the truck driver into stopping. Armed accomplices then force their way into
the cab and take over the truck and its load. The theft from a moving truck M.O.
involves the use of two vehicles, one moving slowly in front of the targeted truck to
force it to slow down, and one traveling behind the targeted truck with its lights turned
off. From this trail vehicle, a thief or thieves jump from the hood onto the back of the
moving truck, break or saw open the lock on the door and pass merchandise to
2013 Global Cargo Theft Threat Assessment 50
accomplices standing in the bed of the trail vehicle. In most cases the truck driver isn’t
aware a theft has occurred until he goes to deliver the load.
Hot Spots
In 2012, as in previous years, the highest number of thefts from trailers occurred in
unsecured truck stops and rest areas, especially along the A4 and A1 highways around
Madrid, the A2 highway in Saragossa Province as well as the A92 highway in Granada
Province. The Catalonia Region, especially the area around Barcelona, also confirmed
its reputation as a relatively risky spot for high-value cargo shipments.
Thieves were able to
load seven pallets of
mobile phones in
four minutes.
In June, however, the Guardia Civil broke up one of the Catalonian gangs with the
arrest of 24 suspects. The gang was accused of involvement in the theft of more than
€2.5 million ($3.3 million USD) in goods from trucks at rest areas and service stations
in Catalonia over several months, primarily on the A2, AP2 and AP7 highways. The
thieves, most of them of Moroccan origin, targeted all kinds of products, including
designer clothes, shoes, perfumes, cameras, televisions, alcoholic beverages and food.
According to reports, the criminals monitored the service areas to identify an attractive
load and then waited until cover of darkness before moving in, cutting the curtain and
unloading the cargo within minutes. The stolen material was then taken to various
homes and storage facilities rented in the Barcelona area before being transferred to
other destinations.
Madrid’s Barajas Airport was also the site of a warehouse robbery in which mobile
phones worth some €500,000 ($665,000 USD) were stolen. On April 22, thieves forced
the lower section of a dock door open by using the tail lift of their truck. Once inside the
facility, they opened the door from the inside. When the facility’s alarm alerted an onsite
guard, the criminals subdued him with the threat of violence. It took them only four
minutes to load seven pallets of mobile phones and escape.
Targeted Products
Food/Drinks was the most stolen product type in 2012, followed by Clothes/Shoes and
Electronics, televisions and computers in particular. Consumer Care products were
also among the items most wanted by thieves. Additionally, thefts carried out by gangs
specializing in targeting Building/Industrial materials and machinery grew sharply in
2012, although some of these gangs were broken up in the latter months of the year.
For instance, according to Spanish media, the Guardia Civil and National Police of
Murcia and Alicante arrested 47 suspects believed to be members of a gang that had
stolen construction machinery throughout Spain over the previous two years for export
to Africa and the Middle East. The heavy machinery was either stolen from companies
and construction sites or, more frequently, rented from specialized companies before
disappearing in the criminal channels. The stolen machinery was sold to countries such
as Mauritania, Morocco, Iraq, Iran and Saudi Arabia, but also to Italy, Romania, Holland
and Germany. The gang is believed to have stolen more than 100 construction
machines each worth some €40,000 ($53,000 USD) on average.
2013 Global Cargo Theft Threat Assessment 51
Theft by Product Type
Building/
Industrial
6%
Miscellaneous
13%
Food/Drinks
25%
Consumer Care
16%
Clothes/Shoes
22%
Electronics
18%
Figure 42 - Spain Theft by Product Type
The Netherlands
The Netherlands made remarkable
progress in the fight against cargo
crime in 2012. Figures published by
the KLPD show that the number of
reported theft incidents dropped by
more than 50%, from 635 to 305,
during the first three quarters of
2012 compared with the same
period in 2011. (The fourth quarter
report had not been released). One
reason for this spectacular plunge,
according to Dutch authorities, is the
breakup of three major criminal
gangs and the arrest of more than
50 suspected gang members in late
Figure 43 - Netherlands Heat Map
2011 and early 2012. Police believe
these gangs were responsible for
dozens of cargo thefts, especially in the county’s south. Dutch authorities also have
2013 Global Cargo Theft Threat Assessment 52
considerably increased efforts to collect and disseminate information about cargo
crime. In 2012, KLPD regularly published data on freight and truck thefts, becoming
one of the most transparent law enforcement authorities in Europe on matters of cargo
crime.
The Dutch private sector, in cooperation with police, has made a considerable
contribution too, especially by investing in secured parking spaces. For example, Truck
Stop Trade Port West near Venlo in the southeast province of Limburg, known in the
past as a risky place, upgraded security with CCTV in 2012 and is now connected to
the so-called “Secure Lane” on the highway corridor A67 running from the Port of
Rotterdam through Eindhoven to Venlo. As part of the public-private Secure Lane
project, truck stops and highways are monitored by CCTV, and police intervene
immediately when theft is suspected. As a result, crime numbers have dropped
significantly in this area.
In 2012, Dutch police also ran a special monitoring operation in the country’s
southeast, where most cargo thefts occurred in the past. For several weeks during the
overnight hours police in unmarked vehicles regularly patrolled the parking areas most
targeted by thieves. As a result, five thieves were arrested and criminal activity
decreased by more than 65% in the weeks after the operation, according to police. As
a positive side effect, crime rates also decreased in unmonitored parking areas.
In July, the Port of Rotterdam — the largest port in Europe — opened three fully
secured truck parking areas that are open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, with space
for a total of 268 trucks. Two are located in the Botlek area of the port and one in the
Waalhaven area. The initiative has been welcomed because the municipality of
Rotterdam prohibits drivers from spending the night in trucks outside of official truck
parking areas.
The Netherlands
made remarkable
progress in the fight
against cargo crime
in 2012.
Also in 2012, police and public prosecutors released a so-called “Top-X” list of The
Netherlands’ top suspected cargo criminals. The release of the list came with a pledge
that the suspects would be monitored constantly, and that anyone caught in the
commission of a cargo crime would be arrested. By early 2013, 48 suspects were
named on the list. A wider reform and reorganization of the Dutch police also took
effect in 2013, and a national infrastructure unit is being established to combat
transport crime, among other things. In addition, a centralized transport crime office is
being created to handle all reports of cargo theft incidents.
Hot Spots
Most 2012 cargo thefts took place in the southern and southeastern provinces of
Limburg, North Brabant and South Holland, notably around Eindhoven, Rotterdam, The
Hague and Venlo. Dutch police attribute the high theft rates along the highways in
these areas to the presence of several major Electronics manufacturing plants and
warehouses. Other hot spots in 2012 were Breda and Veldhoven in North Brabant
Province, Weert, Heerlen and Echt in Limburg Province, and Apeldoorn in Gelderland
Province.
2013 Global Cargo Theft Threat Assessment 53
The Limburg Province city of Roermond, one of The Netherlands’ 2011 hot spots for
cargo theft with 31 incidents, saw a dramatic drop in thefts during the first three
quarters of 2012. Just one cargo theft was reported in Roermond over the nine-month
period.
Trends and Techniques
Given the presence of many high-tech and consumer Electronics companies in The
Netherlands, it is no surprise that Electronics was the product type most targeted by
thieves in 2012, with 46% of all recorded incidents. Computers, laptops, smartphones,
audiovisual devices and household appliances were the most sought-after goods in this
category. The Clothes/Shoes product type came in second with 22% of the total,
followed by the Auto/Parts (7%), Metals (6%) and Consumer Care (2%) categories.
Theft by Product Type
Food/Drinks
17%
Clothes/Shoes
22%
Auto/Parts
7%
Metal
6%
Consumer Care
2%
Electronics
46%
Figure 44 - Netherlands Theft by Product Type
Theft from trailer remained the most popular type of event in 2012, with intrusion —
cutting the canvas or breaking the seal/lock — the most employed M.O. However,
whereas in 2011 more than 80% of thefts from trailers occurred at unsecured truck
stops and rest areas, last year thieves more frequently targeted unattended vehicles at
company facilities and industrial parks. With this shift, 50% of thefts from trailers
occurred at unsecured truck stops and 50% at facilities. This is most likely a result of
the Secure Lane project and the increased police patrols at parking and rest areas.
2013 Global Cargo Theft Threat Assessment 54
Violence, not commonly a factor in cargo theft in The Netherlands, decreased by 50%
during the three first quarters of 2012 compared with the same period in 2011.
According to KLPD, only six incidents reported last year involved violence.
Belgium
Squeezed between
Germany, France,
The Netherlands and
Luxemburg, and
easily accessible
from all sides,
Belgium emerged in
2012 as a hot spot
for cargo crime.
A well-developed
highway network,
significant industrial
and commercial
sectors, and the Port of
Antwerp (Europe’s
second largest after
Rotterdam) make tiny
Belgium an important
transit country for
valuable shipments.
Squeezed between
Germany, France, The
Netherlands and
Luxemburg, and easily
accessible from all
Figure 45 -Belgium Heat Map
sides, the small
country emerged in
2012 as a hot spot for cargo crime, despite considerable efforts by Belgian Federal
Police (Police Fédérale) to combat it. The number of reported freight thefts in our
database increased by more than 20% in the past year, from 119 incidents in 2011 to
142 in 2012. The high figure needs to be put into context, however, as Belgian
authorities actively collect — and publish — cargo theft data, while many countries
don’t even record thefts.
Cargo theft in Belgium’s two main regions — historically Dutch-speaking Flanders in
the north and French-speaking Wallonia in the south — was about evenly divided in
2012, with about 55% of the incidents occurring in Wallonia and about 45% in Flanders.
Only a few recorded incidents occurred in the small Brussels Capital Region, all of
them facility robberies.
Trends and Techniques
More than 90% of all cargo theft incidents recorded in 2012 occurred in unsecured
parking on the main highways, both in Flanders and Wallonia. Theft from trailer was by
far the type of event most recorded throughout the country, at 92% of the total. The
M.O. predominantly used by thieves at unsecured locations was intrusion. Hijacking,
always an extremely rare type of theft in Belgium — with just one reported case in 2011
— was not experienced in any recorded incident last year.
2013 Global Cargo Theft Threat Assessment 55
Facility robberies, the other method involving direct confrontation, occurred in 3% of all
incidents in 2012. On December 22, for example, four heavily armed thieves forced
their way into a parcel service company in Kortenberg, near Brussels, and escaped
with several thousand smartphones worth €1.5 million ($2 million USD). In a robbery
early July 10, four armed thieves shot and injured one of two guards at a security
company in Zaventem, also near Brussels, tied up both guards and escaped with an
unspecified load.
The Consumer Care sector was most targeted by thieves in Belgium in 2012.
Fragrance, hair care products and make-up were the preferred items here. The
Clothes/Shoes product type came in second, followed by Auto/Parts, especially tires.
Other top targets of cargo criminals were Electronics, especially computers and
smartphones; Food/Drinks, mainly soft drinks, coffee and energy drinks; and Alcohol,
largely wine and whiskey.
Theft by Product Type
Building/Industrial
2%
Alcohol
8%
Miscellaneous
13%
Consumer Care
21%
Food/Drinks
8%
Electronics
13%
Clothes/Shoes
19%
Auto/Parts
16%
Figure 46 - Belgium Theft by Product Type
Hot spots
Among the highways most targeted by gangs employing the intrusion M.O. at rest
stops and parking areas was the E17 stretching from Antwerp to Sint-Niklaas, Ghent
and Kortrijk into France. On this route, the hot spots were parking areas in Menen,
2013 Global Cargo Theft Threat Assessment 56
Kortrijk, Laarne, Nazareth, Rekkem, Waasmunster and Marke. The E42 stretching from
the French border to Mons, Charleroi, Namur, Liège and St. Vith into Germany also
had a huge number of incidents recorded. The most unsecure stops along this route
were Verlaine, Spy, Rhines, Heppignies and Fernelmont. Along the A7 from Brussels to
Valenciennes, France, truck stops in Hensies, Maisières, Saint Ghislain and Thieu
were the most targeted by thieves. Other notorious hot spots are along the E19 and the
E411 Brussels-Luxemburg highway, notably the Bierges truck stop. The E40 crossing
Belgium from the French border at Dunkerque to Bruges, Brussels and Liège to the
German border, also had several incidents reported in 2012, as did the E313 from
Antwerp to Liège, especially the Ranst truck stop.
Russia
It is difficult to judge
whether Russian
police and
government
authorities are
seriously engaged in
the fight against
cargo crime.
Cargo theft in Russia remained massively underreported in 2012, likely for reasons
similar to those heard in many Western and Eastern European countries. These
include concerns of reputational risks among victimized companies, bureaucratic red
tape for crime reporters and low probability that crimes will be properly investigated. In
the rare case a cargo theft incident is reported to Russian police, it falls under the
responsibility of multiple territorial police departments depending on where the loss
occurred, and then is treated the same as any other type of theft. As a result, there still
are no specific Russian cargo theft statistics available from government or police
authorities — only general theft figures. Based on those, the magnitude of freight crime
and cargo theft in Russia can only be estimated. Sources operating in the Russian
transport and cargo business estimate that cargo theft represents 15% to 20% of the
general thefts.
Hot Spots
General theft figures are published by the Interior Ministry of Russia’s most Western
region, the Central Economic Region, which includes Moscow, Smolensk and cities
such as Yaroslavl, Vladimir, Tula, Dzerzhinsk and Rybinsk. These numbers
demonstrate that the busy transit corridor running from Poland through Belarus and to
Moscow is a high-risk area. General theft numbers for this area of Russia along the
Belarus and Ukraine border increased considerably during 2012, from 48 thefts per
100,000 inhabitants in January, to 62 thefts per 100,000 inhabitants in July, and 72
thefts per 100,000 inhabitants by October. Again, up to one-fifth of these thefts are
estimated to target freight.
Trends and Techniques
Over the past year, Russia experienced a series of attacks against truck drivers
transporting valuable loads. Occasional incident reports and other sources indicate that
hijackings and armed robberies at company facilities and warehouses continued to be
the most common types of event in Russia in 2012.
Forced stops at gunpoint and deceptive stops, in which criminals dress in police or
customs uniforms to get truck drivers to pull over, are the M.O.s most often used by
hijackers on highways and roads. Media reports in December 2012 detailed incidents
2013 Global Cargo Theft Threat Assessment 57
in the Moscow area in which thieves deliberately caused minor road accidents with
targeted trucks in order to attack and overpower the driver as soon as he pulled over
and stepped from the cab. The criminals then drove away with the truck and its load.
Thefts from trailers in motion also increased in 2012. In these cases, one of the thieves’
vehicles moves in front of the targeted truck and then slows down so the truck is also
forced to slow. Meanwhile other members of the cargo theft gang jump on the back of
the truck from a trail vehicle, force open the doors and begin passing the cargo to their
cohorts in the trail vehicle. In October alone, at least eight such spectacular thefts were
recorded on the Moscow-St. Petersburg highway, with a total loss value of more than
€260,000 ($346,000 USD). The stolen goods included household appliances,
computers, clothing, and even food and drinks.
Another M.O. often seen in Russia in 2012 was collusion, or theft with the driver’s
involvement. In these thefts, unscrupulous drivers park overnight in a pre-arranged
unsecured area and then wait for their fellow gang members to arrive and remove the
trailer’s load. The driver then closes the trailer/container and carefully replaces the
seals with fake ones. Criminals also increasingly used GPS jammers to thwart attempts
to track stolen containers.
It is difficult to judge whether Russian police and government authorities are seriously
engaged in the fight against cargo crime. The website of the Russian Interior Ministry
regularly features reports of successful police actions against theft gangs, but the
accuracy of the reports cannot be verified. The reports also often note when an
apprehended suspect is from the Caucasus region. In June, for instance, police
announced they had arrested a gang, led by “a native of the Chechen Republic,” that
had been hijacking trucks on the Moscow-St. Petersburg highway over the previous
two years.
2013 Global Cargo Theft Threat Assessment 58
Africa
The challenges
confronting
businesses and
supply chain
managers on the
African continent
remained basically
the same in 2012 as
in previous years.
Cargo theft,
corruption, high rates
of crime and violence,
poor infrastructure,
weak governance,
political instability and
social unrest are
among the major
challenges to those
doing business in or
with most of the
countries on the
continent.
Figure 47 - Africa Heat Map
Even though the security situation differs from region to region and from country to
country, Africa remains, all in all, a risky place. Media reports and travel warnings
issued by Western governments provide an indication of which countries are currently
the most dangerous:

Libya: Political instability and a highly volatile security situation since the ousting
and subsequent death in 2011 of leader Muammar Gaddafi.

Kenya: A high incidence of violent crime and a continuous threat from Islamist
terrorists.

Guinea: A shaky political situation with general elections initially foreseen for
July 2012 postponed once again, and now scheduled for May.

Burundi: The constant risk of sudden outbreaks of armed violence, acts of
banditry and cross-border incursion by rebel groups.

Somalia: The risk of inter-clan and inter-factional fighting, kidnapping and
murder.

Central African Republic: A volatile security situation outside of Bangui, the
capital.

Mali: A high risk of terrorist attacks, especially since the French intervention in
January 2013.
2013 Global Cargo Theft Threat Assessment 59

Ivory Coast: The risk of spontaneous unrest and high crime rates, including
mugging, robbery, burglary and carjacking.

Nigeria: Stark rise in 2012 in the number of piracy incidents off the coast, as well
as a high risk of terrorist attacks and kidnappings on land.

Algeria: Risk of terrorist attacks.

Sudan: Extremely dangerous; bandits and terrorist groups targeting foreign
visitors for attack and kidnapping, even in the capital of Khartoum.

Republic of South Sudan: Africa's newest nation and a high-risk area for
visitors and businesses, especially in the border region between Sudan and South
Sudan.

South Africa: Economically the most important country in Africa and one of the
major ports of entry onto the continent; the continent’s main hot spot for cargo theft.
Metal theft is huge in
Africa.
As in previous years, cargo crime data collection and incident reporting remained
extremely poor throughout Africa in 2012. Media reports on cargo crime in Africa are
rare and tend to describe the problem only in general terms rather than giving theft
incident details and precise insight into the modi operandi employed by thieves.
Trends and Techniques
A third of all African cargo thefts recorded in our database during 2012 occurred in
South Africa. In 2011, the proportion was much higher, at 66% of the total. The
remaining incidents recorded in Africa occurred in Egypt, Angola, Algeria and Kenya.
Most thefts covered by the media or received from industry contacts lack key
information about M.O., exact location or product type, and are therefore only partly
useful. However, based on the much richer 2012 data available from South Africa and
taking into account the general trend noticed over recent years, it is probably fair to say
that violence or the threat of violence is present in most cargo theft incidents in Africa
and that armed robberies of company facilities/warehouses and truck hijackings were
also the most common type of event in 2012, like the previous year.
Forced stops (road blockages) and deceptive stops (thieves posing as police officers)
are methods used not only by cargo crime gangs in South Africa, they are seen
throughout the continent.
Like in South Africa, the variety of products stolen in other African countries in 2012
was wide, ranging from basic foods such as bananas to high-tech smartphones. Metal
theft is also huge in Africa. Media in Egypt reported in January 2013 that 120 tons of
aluminum worth E£2.5 million ($373,000 USD) had been stolen in-transit from a
company at the end of December 2012. Another news report stated that no fewer than
26 trucks carrying the same company’s metals were hijacked between August 3 and
December 23, resulting in the theft of 1,202 tons of aluminum. Metal theft was also a
huge problem in Tanzania, on Africa’s east coast, especially at the port of Dar es
Salaam. One news article published in December 2012 quoted a Tanzanian truck
owner as saying the rise in thefts of copper transported from Zambia trough Tanzania
to the Dar es Salaam port “has forced some exporters to redirect their cargo through
2013 Global Cargo Theft Threat Assessment 60
the ports of Walvis Bay and Beira in Namibia and Mozambique, respectively.” As a
consequence, he said, transport companies are now forced to hire escorts to protect
their trucks.
Piracy
Piracy seemed to
have shifted from the
eastern Horn of
Africa to the western
coast of Africa in
2012.
After peaking in 2011, piracy at the Horn of Africa (east coast) dropped significantly in
2012. In Somalia and the Gulf of Aden just 75 ships reported attacks in 2012 compared
with 237 in 2011, according to the London-based International Maritime Bureau (IMB).
The number of hijackings — incidents in which pirates take over a vessel and navigate
it to a hidden place in Somalia — also diminished by 50%, from 28 in 2011 to 14 last
year. Of the 14 vessels hijacked in 2012, four were still being detained by pirates in
Somalia at the end of January 2013. In total, seven ships and more than 100 crew
members were still in the hands of Somalia pirates in January 2013.
The IMB believes that the various multinational counterpiracy deployments in the Gulf
of Aden/Western Indian Ocean, such as the European Union Naval Force, NATO and
Combined Maritime Forces, as well as private security teams escorting ships, have
deterred piracy off Africa’s east coast. Nevertheless, the threat of heavily armed Somali
pirates remains strong. “The continued presence of the navies is vital to ensuring that
Somali piracy remains low. This progress could easily be reversed if naval vessels
were withdrawn from the area,” IMB Director Pottengal Mukundan said in a January
2013 news release.
Piracy seemed to have shifted from the eastern Horn of Africa to the western coast of
Africa in 2012. The IMB recorded 58 incidents in the Gulf of Guinea alone, including 10
hijackings and 207 crew members taken hostage. Pirates in this area are particularly
violent, with the use of guns reported in at least 37 of the attacks. The waters off of
Nigeria were the most targeted, accounting for 27 incidents in 2012 compared with 10
in 2011, with four vessels hijacked, 13 boarded (but not hijacked), eight fired upon and
two attempted attacks. Togo also saw an increase from five incident reports in 2011 to
15 in 2012, including four hijackings. Off of the Ivory Coast, five incidents were reported
in 2012, up from one in 2011. Benin is an exception, showing a sharp fall from 20
incidents (including eight hijackings) in 2011 to two (including one hijacking) in 2012.
South Africa
Violent cargo crime — truck hijackings and facility robberies — remained a common
and widespread issue in South Africa in 2012. This is the case even though the latest
crime statistics from the South African Police Service (SAPS) show a 17.8% decrease
in the number of truck hijackings between April 2011 and March 2012. According to
these figures, 821 trucks were hijacked over the 12-month period as compared with
999 during the same period a year earlier. General economic instability and social
unrest in 2012, particularly a violent, three-week trucker strike lasting from late
September to mid-October, also impacted supply chain security in several parts of
South Africa. During the successful strike for higher driver wages, many trucks and
2013 Global Cargo Theft Threat Assessment 61
cars were stoned and burned in
sporadic violent outbursts throughout
the country — and many trucks
reportedly were hijacked and set afire.
Hot Spots
The province of Gauteng, which
includes the cities of Johannesburg
and Pretoria, remained the area most
affected by overall cargo crime in
2012, according to the latest available
SAPS figures. Gauteng accounted for
more than half of all truck hijackings,
with 443 incidents, down from 600 the
Figure 48 - South Africa Heat Map
previous year. Mpumalanga with 149
incidents, Kwazulu‐Natal with 64, and Free State with 54 also experienced high theft
rates, according to SAPS figures.
Cargo thieves in
South Africa tend to
carry out random
hijackings against
trucks in-transit
without any
knowledge of their
load.
Robberies of armored vehicles transporting cash also were widespread in 2012,
although these incidents occurred less frequently that in previous years. A total of 182
incidents were reported between April 1, 2011, and March 31, 2012, according to
SAPS. This is a decrease of 37.5% over the previous year. Here again, Gauteng
Province was the most affected. The same police statistics also show a 1.4% decrease
in the overall number of “aggravated robberies” between 2011 and 2012.
Product Types, Trends and Techniques
Thieves made off with a huge variety of goods in 2012, mainly due to the fact that
cargo thieves in South Africa tend to carry out random hijackings against trucks intransit without any knowledge of their load. As a result, the products reported stolen
included refrigerators, computer equipment, copper cable, mobile phones and even
bread.
Violence or the threat of violence plays a role in most cargo thefts in South Africa. In
fact, all the 2012 incidents recorded in our database had a violent M.O., and the type of
event was either hijacking (60% of the incidents) or facility robbery (40%). More and
more such violent and armed attacks are occurring in normally well-secured areas such
as Johannesburg’s O.R. Tambo International Airport, the largest airport in South Africa.
For instance, on December 8, a valuable load of mobile phones worth €100,000
($133,000 USD) was stolen from Tambo International. In that case, four armed and
masked thieves breached the airport security fence and entered the premises of a
ground handling company, where they took three guards hostage at gunpoint. In less
than an hour, likely with the help of the hostages, the thieves brought in two of their
own trucks, loaded up several skids of mobile phones from an airport warehouse and
escaped.
2013 Global Cargo Theft Threat Assessment 62
To carry out their crimes, hijackers often place barricades on the road to force truck
drivers to stop. Such an incident occurred on October 11 between Dinokana and
Gaborone in North West Province. Three trucks were traveling on the N4 highway
when they came across barricades in the road. Two trucks managed to make a U-turn
and escape. When a group of people armed with sticks and other weapons approached
the vehicle, the driver ran for cover. The truck was looted and subsequently set on fire.
On December 3, a
gang of eight men
stole electronic
devices worth
$1,186,000 USD.
It is not unusual to find employees of local companies involved in cargo thefts in South
Africa. On December 3, for instance, a gang of eight men stole Electronic devices
worth €890,000 ($1,186,000 USD) from a company in Randjiespark, Midrand (north of
Johannesburg), in what police believe was an inside job. After four of the suspected
thieves were arrested, it came to light that they worked for the company — as security
guards. In another case, five men were arrested and jailed in early December in
connection with the theft of mobile phones from an Ethiopian airline at Tambo
International. The suspects had been working for a ground handing company and an
international security company. In early January 2013, authorities charged two directors
of a protection services company with supplying information that led to robberies the
previous May and August of two trucks transporting cigarettes worth more than
€450,000 ($600,000 USD).
Success Stories
Although SAPS claims that serious crime in South Africa decreased by nearly 2% in
2012 as compared with the year before, and by 32% during the seven years from 2005
to 2012, the figures are difficult to verify. Police sources also emphasize that this
downward trend is the result of improved investigation and police response strategies,
as well as toughened repression which, it must be said, often ends in bloodshed.
On November 24, police forces shot and killed seven suspected robbers and wounded
nine during a shootout at a security services company. The officers reportedly had
received a tip that the thieves intended to hit the company in Robertville, a suburb west
of Johannesburg. Two days later, on November 26, six hijackers were arrested and
another wounded in a shootout with police during an attack against a truck in
Olifantsfontein, south of Pretoria.
In January 2013, South African police said they had arrested “over 45,000 people” in
Gauteng Province since they launched the "Operation Duty Calls" crime-fighting
campaign in September 2012. The suspects were accused of crimes including robbery,
rape, kidnapping, murder, fraud and shoplifting, police said.
2013 Global Cargo Theft Threat Assessment 63
Asia
The July blackouts in
India and the
Typhoon that hit the
Philippines in
October are prime
examples of factors
other than cargo
theft that can
seriously impact
supply chain
operations and
security.
When examining large-scale cargo theft on a global level, the Asian continent is the
safest of the seven, presenting moderate levels of overall risk to supply chain
operations. However, cargo theft is prevalent, and difficult to control, in some Asian
countries and regions. Malaysia and the Philippines both report frequent incidents of intransit cargo hijackings, with violence or the threat of violence involved in the
commission of crimes. In China, on the other hand, small-scale pilferage of cargo is
considered rampant and logistics yard burglaries are at the core of multinational
business concerns. India is becoming noted for large-scale theft incidents, including
truck hijackings and warehouse robberies.
As manufacturing and logistics functions continue to flourish in many areas of the
continent — increasing the appetite for less-costly products — there is little doubt that
cargo theft and supply chain risk have increased throughout Asia. While this trend is
clearly of concern, it is important to note that the rate of theft experienced in Asia is
significantly lower than the rates seen in countries such as Mexico, Brazil and South
Africa.
The July blackouts in India and the typhoon that hit the Philippines in October are prime
examples of factors other than cargo crime that can seriously impact supply chain
operations and security. In addition to infrastructure weaknesses and natural disasters,
contributing factors can include regulatory problems, worker strikes/demonstrations,
and government readiness and response issues. While the FreightWatch Intelligence
Division is focused primarily on cargo theft, we are increasingly looking at these and
other issues that can lead to supply chain disruptions in order to provide our readers
with a broader spectrum of information they can use to help keep their cargo secure
throughout the global supply chain.
China
China is the second-largest
economy and the most-populated
country in the world, making it
tremendously important for business
and trade. From January through
December 2012, China handled 5.4
million tons of cargo by air, 32.2
billion tons of cargo by highway, and
3.9 billion tons of cargo by rail.
Despite the obvious opportunities
for thieves, China historically has
been a low-risk country for cargo
theft. Companies doing business in
Figure 49 - China Heat Map
and with China, however, have seen
an increase in cargo theft in recent years. Furthermore, as domestic consumption
among China’s growing middle class increases demand for all kinds of consumer
2013 Global Cargo Theft Threat Assessment 64
goods in the coming years, cargo thieves can be expected to fully exploit the
opportunities.
Unprecedented urbanization has put enormous pressure on China’s infrastructure,
including roads and highways in and around its major cities. In a bid to bolster the
slowing economy, the Chinese government has been rapidly approving plans for major
infrastructure investments, as evidenced by its September approval of $157 billion USD
in infrastructure projects ranging from subway tunnels to roads and power stations.
However, construction projects have not been able to keep up with the rapid
urbanization that has been putting pressure on China’s supply chain industry. Thus,
congestion on roads and rail tracks across the country continues.
Cargo Theft Trends and Techniques
Companies doing
business in and with
China have seen an
increase in cargo
theft in recent years.
Most cargo theft in China is of a nonviolent, nonconfrontational nature, as it does not
involve interaction with drivers or employees. Facility burglaries from warehouses or
ports/terminals are the most commonly reported types of cargo theft, showing a
willingness of burglars to infiltrate facilities and the need for companies to closely
monitor cargo as it is being transported from manufacturing facilities and loaded into
containers for transport via ship, plane, rail or truck. The theft of cargo from vehicles
was another common type of crime in China in 2012, consisting typically of thefts from
unattended vehicles.
An M.O. that remains common in China is theft of loads from vehicles in motion. This
method frustrates drivers because in most cases it leaves them aware of the theft until
they arrive at the destination to deliver the load.
Pilferage continues to be a small but ever-present issue in China, with thieves stealing
individual products off of open-top trucks, employees stealing small quantities of
product from facilities and even cases of civilians looting dropped cargo from accidents
involving cargo trucks.
Cargo theft remained focused along China’s coastal provinces in 2012, with the
Guangdong Region reporting the most incidents, at 17, Shandong in second with nine
incidents and Hubei with four incidents. Beijing, Henan and Jiangsu provinces each
experienced three incidents each, while other provinces saw only two reported
incidents or fewer last year.
A majority of cargo thefts on mainland China involved Food/Drinks and Metals as the
favored product types. These types share the characteristics of being hard to track by
companies and easy to resell, making them prime targets for theft.
Hong Kong authorities have behaved differently from those in mainland China, with
more direct incident reporting from the Hong Kong Police Department leading to more
accurate information. This explains Hong Kong’s 44 reported incidents compared with
the mainland’s 33 total incidents for the year.
2013 Global Cargo Theft Threat Assessment 65
Unlike mainland China, where a majority of thefts involve the Food/Drinks or Metals
product types, most of Hong Kong’s cargo theft incidents in 2012 targeted the
Electronics sector, especially microchips, random access memory (RAM) and circuit
boards.
Also differing from the mainland, where the majority of incidents were thefts from
warehouses or vehicles, most of Hong Kong’s incidents involved the pilferage of goods
from unattended vehicles or thefts by delivery workers. However, thefts from unsecured
vehicles also occurred.
In a January 3, 2012, incident a driver traveling along the Xuhuai highway in Suqian,
Jiangsu, discovered the theft of more than 200 boxes of domestic liquor after he pulled
over to fix a loose canvas tarp on his truck. A police investigation determined that
thieves traveling in a small truck had pulled behind the larger truck while it was in
motion, matched speed with the truck, and with the use of a ladder and a skilled driver,
proceeded to toss the boxes of liquor onto their own truck. Several of the thieves were
arrested the following month, and the suspected leader was later sentenced to 15
years in prison. However, the team’s skilled driver apparently remains at large.
Figure 50 - China Illustration of in-motion thefts (Drawing courtesy of Yangzi Evening News)
Malaysia
A middle-income
country today,
Malaysia experienced
a 5.1% increase in
GDP in 2012, fueled by
growing domestic
demand. Both the
International Finance
Corp. and the World
Bank rank Malaysia as
one of the world’s most
Figure 51 - Malaysia Heat Map
2013 Global Cargo Theft Threat Assessment 66
business-friendly countries due to its easing of the registration time for property
transfers and its unique liberalization of services sectors.
In one rather original
Malaysia cargo theft,
eight thieves rushed
into a microchip
factory armed with
samurai swords.
Malaysia’s growing export sector, combined with the country’s unique geographical
position on the Malay Peninsula and Strait of Malacca, has allowed Malaysia to emerge
as a major trading partner in the global market, with a trade surplus of $2.66 billion
USD in December 2012. With a focus on exports such as home appliances, electronic
components, palm oil and natural gas, Malaysia’s surging trade in the Asia-Pacific
region, particularly Singapore, greatly enhances its importance as a trade route. This
state of affairs, combined with increasing domestic demand, will put greater pressure
on the supply chain to secure cargo against opportunistic thieves.
Cargo Theft Trends and Techniques
The rate of reliable incident reporting from Malaysia remained low in 2012, having
dropped slightly from the number of incidents reported in 2011.
Cargo theft methods varied in Malaysia last year, although the majority of incidents
involved facility burglaries, hijackings and thefts of trailers with their loads. Some
thieves, however, employed more creative methods, such as hiring people to pose as
security guards in order to facilitate a theft.
One rather original Malaysia cargo theft incident occurred on October 7 when eight
thieves cut a hole in the rear fence of a microchip factory and rushed into the facility
armed with samurai swords. The robbers overwhelmed the security guards, and then
tied up the guards and several other employees. Using a truck they had acquired in
advance, the robbers loaded up $3.5 million USD worth of microchips and fled the
scene.
Malaysia’s cargo theft trends for 2012 were similar to 2011, with Electronics, mainly
smartphones, notebooks and computer components, the cargo most commonly stolen.
This varies from Asia overall in 2012, where Food/ Drinks was the most popular
product type among thieves. Similar to the rest of Asia, however, the Metals product
type was the second most commonly stolen cargo in Malaysia last year.
Geographically, Malaysia’s western region saw the greatest amount of cargo theft in
2012. Similar to the year before, Selangor state reported the largest number of reported
incidents, with 36% of the country’s total. Johor state overtook Penang state to become
2012’s second most popular target of cargo thieves.
Though reported cargo theft in Malaysia remains low, thieves in the country should not
be underestimated, as they have proven to be both capable in ability and flexible in
methodology.
Philippines
Fueled by strong domestic demand in 2012, the Philippine economy grew by 6.6% in
2012, surpassing the government’s target of 5% to 6% growth. With the country’s
2013 Global Cargo Theft Threat Assessment 67
central bank keeping interest rates low, continued
growth of domestic business sectors and the
government’s focus on infrastructure improvements,
the International Monetary Fund estimates the
country’s 2013 growth will be around 5.6%.
Cargo Theft Trends and Techniques
Similar to Malaysia, the rate of reliable incident
reporting in the Philippines is low, dropping in 2012
compared with 2011.
While thefts by drivers and other nonviolent incidents
occurred last year, violence or the threat of violence
was employed in the majority of reported cargo
thefts in the Philippines. Most incidents with a
violent/threat of violence M.O. involved hijackers
blocking a truck’s path and seizing the vehicle by
Figure 52 - Philippines Heat Map
force. However, it also was common for thieves to
either pose as police officers or enlist the aid of rogue police officers.
On October 5, for example, officers at a police checkpoint flagged down four suspects
traveling in an escort vehicle and a truck loaded with stolen cargo. The suspects fired
upon the officers and then fled the scene, setting off a chase that ended in a shootout
— and the death of all four suspects — in the city of Dasmarinas, Cavite Province. Two
of the dead suspects were later found to be police officers in league with the criminals,
while a follow-up investigation led to the discovery of a warehouse, where two more
suspects were shot and killed by police.
As in 2011, the Food/Drinks product type was most often targeted in the Philippines,
although the Electronics product type and commodities such as refined sugar, copra
and gasoline also were targeted.
Geographically, half of all reported cargo thefts incidents for 2012 occurred on the
northern island of Luzon. Of these, 40% occurred in the National Capital Region (Metro
Manila) and 20% occurred in Cavite Province.
Although the number of reported cargo incidents in the Philippines remained low last
year, it should not be assumed that the country is any safer than others in the region.
Thieves’ aggressive nature, along with their ability to acquire police uniforms and to
enlist the aid of rogue officers in hijackings, poses a high degree of risk to the supply
chain.
2013 Global Cargo Theft Threat Assessment 68
India
The Middle East and North Africa
continue to be principal outlets for
India’s exports, helped by
continued strong oil revenuefueled demand from these
countries. Despite Europe’s slow
recovery, the growing Asian
markets, combined with India’s
wide range of export products and
growing domestic demand for
consumer goods, keep the supply
chain and transport sector
humming. This, in turn, provides
more and more opportunities for
cargo thieves to strike.
Cargo Theft Trends and
Techniques
Much like China, the number of
Figure 53 - India Heat Map
reported cargo thefts increased
significantly in 2012. However, this increase is more likely caused by improvements in
the rate of reporting in India than by a drastic increase in cargo thefts.
A vast majority of reported cargo theft incidents for 2012 were nonviolent, with criminals
having largely opted for stealth rather than more aggressive or truly violent methods.
This most commonly was seen in burglaries at warehouses and factories, but also in
thefts from trucks parked at truck stops and logistics yards. However, thieves in the
known hijacking cases employed highly aggressive and at times lethal tactics.
Cases of cargo theft in India vary greatly. In a November 9 incident, for example, a
team of burglars used modified jeeps with rubber carpeting in order to quietly steal a
little under $6,000 USD in gas canisters from a warehouse. On October 13, on the
other hand, a driver was overtaken at a toll booth by two hitchhikers he had picked up
and a third person who approached the truck at the toll stop. To carry out the crime, the
hitchhikers suddenly pulled out pistols at the toll booth.
Because India manufactures and transports a wide range of products both the export
and domestic markets, the country saw a variety of product types stolen in 2012.
However, the Food/Drinks type was the most commonly targeted, with nearly three
times as many thefts as the second place category, Building/Industrial. The Metals
product type also was among those most targeted.
The 57 recorded cargo thefts in India last year occurred throughout the country, with
most states seeing from one to five incidents each. However, Uttar Pradesh state, with
2013 Global Cargo Theft Threat Assessment 69
Uttar Pradesh state
claimed nearly 25%
of India’s cargo theft
total.
14 thefts, claimed nearly 25% of India’s cargo theft total. Punjab state followed with
12% of the total.
With the rapid growth of the economy, an emerging middle class and an increased
focus on infrastructure development, India will continue to be an area of potential profit
— as well as risk — for the supply chain.
Vietnam
Vietnam’s transportation sector suffers from many of the same problems that plague
other nations in Southeast Asia, including infrastructure development still in the early
stage, government corruption and financial mismanagement. However, strong domestic
growth, combined with China’s latest effort to strengthen ties with its neighbors, has
allowed Vietnam to experience impressive growth.
Vietnam’s growing domestic economy, and rising profile on the Asian and international
scenes suggest the supply chain industry is heading for livelier times, although
underinvestment in infrastructure is a major hindrance. Additionally, problems of
corruption and crime in the country will require a great deal of work if Vietnam is to take
advantage of the economic growth in the region.
Although cargo theft reporting in Vietnam has been historically sparse to nonexistent,
Vietnamese national police released a report in late 2012 stating that 46 cargo theft
incidents had occurred throughout the year. The report lacked details of the incidents,
but its mere existence suggests the possibility of more transparency in this regard in
the future.
CONTACT
FreightWatch International
Supply Chain Intelligence Center
[email protected]
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