Overhaul
A truck carrying a high-value load of electronics received boxed in by passenger autos and robbed at a railroad crossing in broad daylight in Chicago final week. That is in accordance with Overhaul, a safety tech supplier that screens cargo theft occasions.
Overhaul stated whereas this sort of brazen theft is widespread in different international locations, it may mark the start of a „worrying development“ to see it occur in a serious U.S. metropolis.
The theft occurred within the early afternoon of Friday, February 21, after a driver hauling a load of shopper electronics had simply departed origin in Chicago. At a railroad crossing, a number of passenger autos, together with what seems like a rented van, boxed within the truck.
[Related: Thieves target in-transit cargo while the truck moves]
„Whereas stopped, a number of actors in a number of different passenger autos lower the seals (together with a excessive safety bar seal) and commenced to pilfer the load,“ Overhaul wrote in a launch describing the incident. „This occasion happened in broad daylight on a populated highway with a number of witnesses.“
The motive force, on this case, did handle to take some motion by getting a couple of footage of the thieves. Truck drivers, typically, function the very best line of protection towards cargo theft, in accordance with specialists.
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Overhaul
Overhaul „has been warning concerning the anecdotal will increase in violence and driver confrontation within the fee of cargo theft,“ the corporate wrote. „This incident highlights that worrying development in a approach not seen till now within the U.S. This M.O. is one thing normally seen in areas with a lot larger violence within the fee of cargo theft, akin to Mexico and Brazil.“
Chicago has been a recognized scorching spot for cargo theft through „straight theft“ just like the smash and seize seen within the footage above, likewise „strategic theft,“ or double brokering and/or enterprise impersonation occasions that result in lacking hundreds. Late final summer season, one owner-operator went to jail for his unwitting participation in a cargo theft scheme stemming from him merely choosing up and dropping a load his service booked through a dealer.
[Related: Do truckers deserve blame for getting double brokered?]
Cargo theft professional Scott Cornell, after a excessive profile egg heist in Pennsylvania, stated that for probably the most half, criminals have already got a purchaser lined up for stolen cargo.
„Native criminals are conscious of which merchandise transfer by totally different amenities, which offers them with targets for this technique of pilferage as properly,“ wrote Overhaul, referencing the latest Chicago incident. Sometimes, cargo theft in Chicago has „historically been from rail or putting OTR shipments as they have been parked in a single day outdoors of receiving amenities of recognized merchandise.“ Overhaul really useful shippers within the Chicago space and close to different intermodal hubs „be vigilant for indicators of surveillance in any respect origin places.“
For drivers „ought to keep alert for any indications of being adopted out of the origin,“ Overhaul stated. If it seems such as you’re being adopted, wait to depart till somebody can examine. „If a driver suspects they’re being adopted straight from departure, they need to preserve contact with their dispatch as they try to return to the origin facility or enter the freeway, whichever is closest. … Pulling right into a police station is a superb possibility if accessible. If attainable, routes departing origin in Chicago ought to keep away from areas that can drive a cease earlier than getting into the freeway.“ Areas like that rail crossing.
Overhaul lately launched FraudWatch, a „service vetting“ and anti-cargo theft platform that hopes to curb these occasions working with shippers and using onboard monitoring gadgets, likewise shut work with regulation enforcement businesses. However vetting logistics companions solely takes you to date — criminals can strike at any time.
Overhaul recommends shipments in huge hubs like Chicago to not stage otuside of supply places or in close by industrial areas, like Lamar Boulevard in Memphis, Tennessee, or Fulton Industrial in Atlanta, „as criminals typically function in these areas as properly.“
[Related: Owner-op jailed after unwitting participation in cargo theft: Cautionary tale, mitigating risk]
