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TAPA EMEA - IIS DATA


POLICE ACTIONS LEAD TO ARRESTS AND PRODUCT RECOVERIES BUT TAPA STILL RECORDS INCIDENTS IN 17 COUNTRIES IN EMEA AND LOSSES OF €2.4M IN 28 DAYS


The positive to take out of cargo theft incidents reported to TAPA’s Incident Information Service (IIS) in the Europe, Middle East & Africa (EMEA) region in February was the high number of law enforcement successes in arresting suspects and recovering stolen goods.


One of the best examples of exemplary policing was the arrest of 13 offenders in Saint- Aybert in northern France, reported to TAPA on 2 February. According to the intelligence report, the gang are believed to have been breaking into trucks since October 2000 and are suspected of stealing goods with a value of €1 million. Following the arrests, investigators recovered numerous pallets of food, household electronics, cosmetics, shoes, bicycles and electric scooters.


In Spain, on 19 February, police also arrested a driver in connection with the loss of a consignment of chocolate worth


€250,000. The cargo never reached its delivery location and the GPS onboard the vehicle revealed that the lorry had spent two hours on an Alicante industrial estate. The driver was later detained by law enforcement officers on


suspicion of having been paid to unload the cargo at a pallet warehouse, where the consignment of chocolate


was discovered. The truck was also located some 50kms away.


So far for February, TAPA’s IIS has received 102 reports of new cargo thefts in the EMEA region with a combined loss of €2,438,497 for the 25 or 24.5% of recorded crimes giving a value. The six major losses involving thefts of goods worth €100,000


or more accounted for €1,847,857 of the February total or an


average of €307,976 per crime. The other four major


incidents during the month were: €200,000


Offenders driving a tractor unit entered a logistics facility in Gazzola in the Emilia- Romagna region of Italy on 25 February and hitched up a trailer loaded with unspecified goods before escaping.


€141,277


A truck hijacking in Belville, Western Cape, South Africa, and theft of a consignment of household appliances. On 22 February, several days after the incident, police recovered the vehicle and


further investigation led to both the discovery of the stolen goods and the arrests of three


suspects. €140,000


On 13 February, law enforcement officers were also successful in recovering a stolen truck and its cargo of clothing in Ancona in Italy’s Marche region. The truck driver had reportedly parked up at a service area for a break only to discover the truck and trailer had disappeared when he returned to the parking lot. The driver alerted police who found the truck near Chieti. Two suspects were arrested.


€116,580


Thieves stole a large quantity of candleware after breaking into a truck in Brampton in the North West region of the UK on 25 February.


With more cargo theft reports still expected for February, TAPA’s IIS has also so far recorded seven other losses of goods worth between €50,000-€100,000. The overall value and average loss associated with these incidents were €400,364 and €57,194 respectively. These crimes included:


• €90,000 - At least five masked offenders using firearms attacked a cash-in-transit vehicle in the town of Canosa di Puglia, Italy, on 23 February before making their escape in a car.


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