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Three men were passing by a busy truck terminal and noticed a 40-foot dry van parked
there. Losing themselves in the parking lot of trucks, cars and people milling about, they
walked right in the terminal yard.
These guys were truck thieves looking for easy prey – and there it was. Since they didn’t
have their cutting tools with them that day, on e of them merely picked up a rock and beat
the lock off the trailer door. He pulled out one of the cases, threw it down on the
pavement and it burst open, revealing that it contained wood salad bowls.
The men left the terminal and made a quick call to their “fence” (buyer and seller of stolen
goods), who agreed to handle the shipment. They then returned to the terminal, stole a
tractor, hooked up the trailer and drove it away to a warehouse for unloading.
The whole thing occurred in broad daylight in a supposedly secure terminal, and a
number of people observed the thieves. But nobody stopped them.
The thieves actually kept the tractor after altering its identity so they could use it in future
jobs. The trailer was abandoned. It was a good score for an afternoon’s work.
Unfortunately, this case is sadly typical in the trucking industry today. Although truck and
cargo thieves use a variety of approaches, the experts agree that the factor that most
aids criminals is a general lack of security in the industry.
From a criminal’s point of view, truck cargo theft is relatively safe crime – much safer and
more lucrative than bank robbery or drug peddling. It’s easy to carry out, easy to dispose
of stolen goods and, if you happen to get caught, the chances of getting off with a light or
suspended sentence are remarkably good.
Truck and cargo losses due to thefts are soaring. Some of the bigger losses have been
loads of tylenol, liquid gold and silver and the like. But items such as computers, cameras
and sweaters have been easy pickings as well.
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