How Organized Theft Rings Work
The movies get some things right. These crime rings are highly structured, hierarchical networks with bosses, middle managers, and front-line criminals who do the dirty work. Positions in a theft ring include scouts who specialize in finding crime targets, planners, lookouts, burglars, drivers, and fencers who sell the goods that are stolen.
Whether or not they say “This is a friend of mine” is up for debate, but the impressive organization and communication that goes on in organized crime units is very real. With the help of modern technology, it’s better than any generation of criminals in history.
Trucking and Cargo are at the Greatest Risk
According to CargoNet’s VP of Operations, Keith Lewis, theft of cargo from large trucks is on the rise, oddly enough, because of improvements in the supply chain. Modernization and automation of the supply chain roadmap have led to fewer touches along the transportation route. Fewer touches mean fewer employees and lower payroll for companies, but it also means less oversight and limited points of verification. Organized crime rings are exploiting this.
“What the bad guys have figured out is, the faster we move things, the less vetting we do, and the faster they can steal things. And that’s what’s going on right now. It’s hitting us like lightning. There’s really no end to this,” he said in an article from CCJ Digital.
Trailers left unattended in lots are a hot target for thieves. Leaving a truck in a truck stop parking lot for long enough to step in for a bathroom break is all it takes to lose thousands of dollars in cargo, especially if an organized crime ring is following a high-value truck, waiting for a chance to strike. CargoNet also reports that the biggest hotspots for such crime are Dallas-Fort Worth, Atlanta, Southern California, New York, New Jersey, and Eastern Pennsylvania.
In Southern California, police recently recovered $1.4 million in stolen merchandise from a cargo theft ring that had been terrorizing California shippers. More than 160 pallets of items, from food products to industrial-grade tools, were recovered.
