Cargo crime in EMEA costs €120m a year
Members and associates of the Transported Asset Protection Association (TAPA) reported 3,873 cargo crimes in Europe, the Middle East & Africa (EMEA) in 2009, costing manufacturers and logistics service providers losses of €120 million. In terms of categories, there were increases in incidents of theft from facility and hijacking, but fewer incidents of theft from vehicle, theft of vehicle, robbery, theft and fraud. Commodities such as tobacco products, non-electronic, sports goods and ‘supplies‘ all saw a higher level of losses in 2009 compared with 2008, but there was an encouraging downward trend in other areas, including metal, laptops/PDAs, mobile phones, pharmaceutical and medical products and computer software. In June, more than 200 security and transport specialists will meet in Brighton, UK to increase their joint efforts to combat cargo crime in the supply chain, and to examine the modus operandi of organised criminals as well as the growing threat of opportunist theft resulting from the downturn in the global economy. Following an earlier TAPA conference to highlight an increase in cargo crime in Amsterdam, the Dutch government has worked closely with TAPA and other industry groups including Air Cargo Netherlands (ACN) and Transport & Logistics Netherlands (TLN) to identify practical ways to tackle the problem. This has resulted in the signing of a ‘Covenant on the Prevention & Reduction of Cargo Crime in the Netherlands‘ and the appointment of a special prosecutor dedicated to the fight again cargo crime. |