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SUPPLY CHAININTELLIGENCE CENTER

Global Intelligence Note12 July 2019

The SensiGuard ™ Supply Chain Intelligence Center (SCIC)

presents a summary of major incidents and news articles

relating to cargo theft and intelligence for the week ending

12 July 2019.

EMEA

Germany ................................................................................. 1

The Netherlands ...................................................................... 2

Nigeria ..................................................................................... 2

France/Italy .............................................................................. 2

Russia ..................................................................................... 2

Gulf of Guinea ......................................................................... 2

Europe/Global ......................................................................... 2

Ghana ..................................................................................... 3

Ethiopia ................................................................................... 3

United Kingdom ...................................................................... 3

Latvia ...................................................................................... 3

APAC

India ........................................................................................ 3

Australia .................................................................................. 4

North & South America

Brazil ....................................................................................... 4

Mexico .................................................................................... 4

U.S. & Canada ........................................................................ 5

EMEA

Germany8 July 2019: “Curtain Slashers” were active at

Autohof Holsterfeld on the A30 in Salzbergen

(Lower Saxony). They first cut the tarpaulin

of a trailer parked there to see what the cargo

was, then broke open the rear doors and stole a pallet of

unknown cargo products. This location was again targeted a

few nights later when two trailers had their tarpaulins cut, and

large quantities of clothing products were taken along with other

unknown items.

Read more: Münsterländische Volkszeitung (Germany)

8 July 2019: A trailer that was parked on the

fuel station Fulda-Nord on the A7 was stolen.

It contained thirty-two pallets (82,000 cans)

of energy drinks worth an estimated retail

value of approx. €100,000. The trailer was left at this location

without a truck attached; once stolen, it was brought north to

Am Friedrichsfeld, Niederaula. After an hour, it was moved to

another rest area south on the A7 to Rastplatz Günterswald

(near Burghaun) where it was likely unloaded.

Read more: Fuldaer Zeitung (Germany)

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The Netherlands11 July 2019: In recent weeks cargo

thieves have often struck Unsecured

Parking locations on the A67 and A73

between Venlo and Nijmegen, the police

warns. The Dutch Transport and Logistics Organization calls

on carriers to be vigilant. In many cases, theft-sensitive goods

(including Electronics) were transported in a curtain sided trailer.

The Organization emphasizes the importance of driving with the

right means of transport. “It is an irresponsible risk to transport

theft-sensitive cargo in a curtain-sided trailer and to stop at

Unsecured Parking locations. The security level must match the

risk level of cargo and route.”

Read more: Transport Online (The Netherlands)

Nigeria11 July 2019: The Federal High Court in

Abuja ordered the Nigeria Customs Service

and its board chairman to pay about N5.5bn

to a company for unlawfully seizing ninety

containers of rice it imported. Officials of the NCS invaded and

sealed its warehouse, containing over ninety containers of rice

stored in an air-tight condition, in the Tinapa Free Trade Zone,

Calabar. Justice Ekwo said the NCS and its board chairman

failed to supply evidence in support of their allegation that the

plaintiff was involved in rice smuggling.

Read more: Punch (Nigeria)

France/Italy9 July 2019: A plan is in the making to reroute

as many freight trains on the disrupted railway

line between France and Italy. Four alternative

routes have been identified, some of them

already in use. However, a large majority of the train services

via Modane was cancelled. This was the first update after a

line closure of at least six weeks was announced on the vital

North Sea Mediterranean corridor. The cause is a mudslide

that blocked the railway track in Maurienne Valley on 2 July. On

Thursday 4 July, the French infrastructure manager SNCF called

for a complete line closure until 15 August.

Read more: RailFreight.com

Russia9 July 2019: Russia has lifted the ban on

transit traffic for a range of European products

per train and truck. This includes agricultural

products, raw materials and food products.

The measure is effective per 1 July, subjective to certain

conditions. The decision is considered a major breakthrough for

Eurasian rail freight traffic.

Read more: RailFreight.com

Gulf of Guinea9 July 2019: Following a story last month

detailing both the current state of piracy

against merchant ships off the coasts of

Nigeria, Guinea, Togo, Benin and Cameroon,

and some of the reasons that the Gulf of

Guinea has now become the world’s hotspot for the Hijacking

of vessels and the kidnap of their crews, comes the latest report

from the Piracy Reporting Centre at the International Maritime

Bureau (IMB). Although overall attacks around the globe

dropped from 107 in the first six months of 2018 to 78 for the

same period this year, the situation in the seas around the West

African coast remains extremely dangerous for ships of all types

plying their trade.

Read more: Handy Shipping Guide

Europe/Global8 July 2019: Seventeen organised crime

groups involved in the trafficking of

counterfeit medicines and doping material

were dismantled. Thirty-three countries,

INTERPOL, the Joint Research Centre (JRC),

the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) and the World Anti-

Doping Agency (WADA) joined forces in the Europol-coordinated

operation Viribus for a massive crackdown on the trafficking

of doping materials and counterfeit medicines. Overall results

during the operation: 3.8 million Illicit doping substances and

counterfeit medicines seized; 17 organised groups dismantled;

9 underground labs disrupted; 234 suspects arrested; and 839

judicial cases opened. Almost 1,000 individuals were reported

for the production, commerce or use of doping substances.

Read more: Europol

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Ghana8 July 2019: A suspected armed highway

robber was gunned down by a civilian on

the Atebubu-Kwame Danso Highway in the

Atebubu-Amantin Municipality in the Bono

East Region. The deceased was one of about six suspected

armed robbers who attacked and robbed occupants of four

vehicles that plied the road that evening. The rest of his

colleagues fled into the bush when they realised their colleague

had been killed.

Read more: GhanaWeb.com

Ethiopia6 July 2019: Coffee exporters are suffering

from and grappling with theft and fear of

escalated reputation distortion, as container

pilferage continues to cause considerable

losses to bagged and containerized coffee. Six months after the

reporting of container pilferages on exporters, similar incidents

have occurred upsetting a handful of exporting companies who

fear Ethiopia’s coffee market would suffer a serious blow from

irate international buyers.

Read more: All Africa

United Kingdom5 July 2019: Three men were arrested on suspicion

of theft after a truck driver was followed on the

M65. Police were called by the driver of the truck

travelling on the M65 near Junction 8 at Hyndburn.

He informed police that he believed he was being

followed by a car. Officers from Lancashire’s Tactical Operations

division were deployed to the scene as call handlers from

the Force Control Room continued to advise the truck driver,

informing him to keep moving in case thieves struck when he

stopped. Once police put patrols in place, the truck driver was

advised to exit the motorway and officers proceeded to stop the

other vehicle.

Read more: Lancs Live (U.K.)

Latvia5 July 2019: The State Police confirmed to media

that a cargo consisting of fifteen tons of smuggled

vodka had been intercepted on 1 June. Two

people were detained and criminal proceedings

were initiated in accordance with part 2 of Article 221 of the

Criminal Law for illegal storage, movement (transportation), and

sale of alcoholic beverages and tobacco products. The police

noted that there will be an investigation. Allegedly a former

politician was arrested. He is also a founding member of the

Latvian Transport Association.

Read more: Public Broadcasting of Latvia

APAC

India6 July 2019: Four people, including two BJP

(political party) leaders in Lakhimpur, were

arrested by police for their alleged involvement

in a truck Hijacking and iron rod theft case. An

eighteen-wheeled trailered truck was carrying

30 tons of iron rods from Durgapur in West Bengal for an

engineering and construction company engaged in highway

construction works at Arunachal Pradesh. The truck went

missing after a stop at a roadside dhaba in Brahmajan in

Biswanath district. The driver of the truck informed the truck

operator about the Hijacking of the vehicle by some people who

physically overpowered him and tied his hands and feet.

Read more: Northeast Now (India)

5 July 2019: A group of five youths Hijacked

a truck carrying Pan Masala (spices) cartons

worth Rs 38 lakhs near Makum Bypass Road.

Following the incident, the district Deputy

Superintendent of Police, formed a team and

launched a search operation in the area of Baghjan near Makum

Bypass. The police team managed to recover around 146

cartons out of 150 from the house of two suspected robbers.

But, the whereabouts of the five robbers were not ascertained

yet by the police.

Read more: The Sentinel (India)

sensitech.com SCIC Global Intelligence Note 12 July 2019 4

Australia 5 July 2019: A coalition of Australian

law enforcement agencies has arrested

four suspected members of a major drug

trafficking network after seizing half a ton of

methamphetamine estimated to be worth almost

AU$400 million (USD $275.6 million). The suspects were

detained at various locations across west and south Sydney

as part of an investigation into an alleged international drug

importation and supply conspiracy that was launched towards

the end of last year. The arrests came after investigators from

Australian Border Force (ABF) found the huge shipment of

methamphetamine in a shipping container that was labelled as

carrying clothing.

Read more: Illicit Trade

4 July 2019: Efforts by marine

container terminal operators to extract

cash from trucking companies in

Australia continues unabated with new fee hikes in the range

of 73–88% to use the Vehicle Booking System (VBS). The new

fees came into force early this week. And these new fees are

in addition to other cost hikes by marine terminal operators.

The VBS is a 24/7 online slot booking system allowing trucking

companies to organise the receival and delivery of ocean

shipping containers.

Read more: FreightWaves.com

North & South America

Brazil11 July 2019: The Federal District Civil Police

arrested eleven individuals who formed part

of a prominent criminal group operating in the

region. Authorities estimate that cargo theft of

cigarettes specifically will decrease by 60% now that the group

has been dismantled. They report that the group operated by

studying delivery routes, intercepting the cargo units as they

would arrive to their destinations, and using jammers to block

any tracking systems while the stolen cargo was being sold.

Read more: Metrópoles (Brazil)

9 July 2019: An attempted Hijacking in

Miracatu, Sao Paulo resulted in two injured

police officers, and a hostage situation in which

twelve people were held captive inside of a

restaurant by the group of cargo thieves. The

incident initiated near km 352 of highway BR-116, when a

group of six men intercepted a cargo unit transporting a load of

pesticides valued at R $998,000. When authorities approached

the scene, they were immediately met with gunfire. Authorities

responded by initiating a high-speed chase, employing the

use of helicopters to locate the criminal group who had taken

refuge inside the restaurant. After three hours of negotiation, the

criminals released all twelve hostages and turned themselves in.

Read more: Trucão (Brazil)

4 July 2019: Police Officers surprised a truck

driver in possession of stolen cargo, who

originally claimed that he had fallen victim

to a cargo theft. Upon further interrogation,

however, the driver confessed to falsely

reporting the theft of sixteen separate shipments in order to sell

the stolen cargo in local markets. Authorities are investigating

whether he is part of a cargo theft ring known to operate in

Osasco, Sao Paulo.

Read more: Web Diario (Brazil)

Mexico11 July 2019: Authorities report that officers

attempted to pull over a group of armed men

aboard a stolen vehicle. When the group

resisted, officers engaged in the pursuit of

the vehicle, during which the passengers fired

several gunshots. The group then attempted to flee on foot

while continuing to exchange fire with authorities, resulting in

the death of one male and the arrest of another. As a result,

residents of the community of Santa Rosa de Lima in Villagrán

resorted to blocking Highway Salamanca-Celaya (MEX-45)

with a stolen trailer and several tires that have been set on

fire, demanding that the state governor respond to what they

consider a use of excessive force by local authorities.

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7 July 2019: A truck driver was killed during

an attempted Hijacking in Emiliano Zapata,

Veracruz. Authorities were alerted of the

incident when the driver lost control of the trailer,

apparently due to his injuries, and crashed into

several vehicles before colliding with the Plan del Rio Tollbooth,

located on Highway Veracruz-Xalapa (MEX-140D). The driver,

who had attempted to avoid the cargo theft by speeding past

criminals instead of stopping, had been shot in the leg and was

found dead at the scene.

4 July 2019: Local residents were recorded

stealing pigs from an overturned trailer in

Tamaulipas. The accident occurred when the

driver lost control of the truck, skidding until it

flipped over on the side of the highway. Both the driver and his

copilot were injured, but that appeared to be of no concern to

the multitude of people that arrived at the scene only to steal the

animals that hadn’t been injured or killed in the accident. By the

time authorities arrived, there was no cargo left to secure.

U.S. & Canada9 July 2019: The Trucking Freight

Futures forward curve for the Los

Angeles to Dallas contract (FWD.VLD)

calls for a muted peak retail season for the last quarter of 2019.

The market expects spot prices on that lane to be lower than in

2018 or 2017, peaking at around $2.01 per mile in November.

Read more: FreightWaves.com

8 July 2019: When IMO 2020 goes into effect

on January 1, 2020 the domestic U.S. logistics

industry, including the shippers it serves, will

be grossly unprepared for volatility in the diesel

markets. A key finding is that owner-operators (one to three

trucks) and small fleets (four to 100 trucks)—the groups most

at-risk to higher diesel prices—have decided to not prepare at

all. Three of five owner-operators (60 percent) and two of five

small fleets (40 percent) indicated they will not develop any plans

or strategies for possible increases in diesel prices in the coming

months.

Read more: FreightWaves.com

7 July 2019: More than $400 billion

in freight crossed in both directions

through the United States-Mexico

border by truck in 2018. In Laredo, Texas, alone, more than two

million trucks carried goods across the border last year. While

trade wars with Mexico and China have destabilized business

markets, industry professionals said business along the border is

still moving.

Read more: FreightWaves.com

7 July 2019: Three suspects were arrested

after a Royal Canadian Mounted Police officer

encountered a broken-down cube van with

more than C$25,000 of stolen lobster inside

in New Brunswick. The Mountie made the discovery after a

seafood company reported the theft of 48 cases of crustaceans

from a storage facility in Murray Harbour, Prince Edward Island.

Read more: FreightWaves.com

3 July 2019: When someone made off with a

truck-trailer carrying $65,000 worth of soup,

police used DNA to link the bullion banditry to

a suburban Miami man with a history of cargo

theft.

Read more: Palm Beach Post (Palm Beach, FL)

18 July 2019