SUPPLEMENT


of the airport perimeter. Security analysts concluded that without insider information, the operation’s precision would have been unattainable. The Brussels heist served as a global warning. The combination of organised crime,


insider leaks, and weak perimeter controls


could neutralise even high-security environments. The incident forced airports and logistics providers to re-examine their handling of ultra-valuable shipments, particularly at points of transfer between ground vehicles and aircraft.


Shared risks and business lessons Both the Toronto and Brussels thefts, though separated by a decade, illustrate recurring and dangerous themes in the airfreight of valuables. The most evident is insider threat. In both cases, knowledge of timings, procedures and vulnerabilities was too precise to be coincidental. Employee collusion, or at the very least leakage of sensitive operational information, enabled the thieves to act decisively. Secondly, both thefts exploited documentation and verification


gaps. In Toronto, a forged airway bill was sufficient to override security, while in Brussels, the use of counterfeit police vehicles and uniforms secured unquestioned access. In each case, reliance on appearances rather than robust checks proved fatal. Thirdly, the transfer point weakness was glaring. Whether at


a holding warehouse or on the tarmac, the moment when high- value goods move between modes of


transport remains their


most exposed phase. These zones demand the strictest possible controls, yet continue to be soft targets. Finally, there is a lesson in detection and recovery. In both cases,


the goods disappeared irreversibly into opaque global markets, demonstrating that prevention is far cheaper and more effective than post-theft


investigation. For the airfreight industry, the


imperative is clear: procedural rigour, layered security and vigilance must outpace criminal innovation.


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