Freight Theft | Transport Crime

According to the European head of the Transported Asset Protection Association (TAPA), the average annual damage caused in Germany by attacks on lorries amounts to €1.2 billion. The economic loss to the national economy is reportedly even five to eight times higher, because consequential damages (delivery failures and bottlenecks) are often far greater than the mere loss of goods. In 2015, 1,605 lorries were even stolen complete with their cargo, meaning the affected companies suffered a double blow. Household and electrical appliances in particular appear to be of interest to thieves.

The investigators of Kurtz Detective Agency Münster have many years’ experience in investigating transport crime. We are pleased to put our expertise at your disposal: +49 251 7009 0014.

Who Are the Perpetrators? Where Are the Crime Scenes?

When our Münster-based detective agency is brought in to clarify cargo thefts committed by third parties, we not only work on resolving the case but also advise the affected companies to train their drivers in recognising and avoiding dangerous situations. After all, a large proportion of thefts are committed at motorway service areas that are poorly or not illuminated and have low footfall. While a long-distance driver may quickly and easily find a comfortable place to sleep there, they simultaneously assume an increased risk of theft. Freight thieves favour secluded, dimly lit laybys because they can carry out their activities undisturbed and with few unknown variables.

Every ninth case of transport theft in Europe occurs in Germany, as the country is heavily used as a transit state. The perpetrators are often organised gangs, predominantly from Eastern Europe, but there are of course also lone or first-time offenders who are particularly attracted by high-value goods such as laptops, televisions and games consoles. Drivers themselves are sometimes involved as accomplices or even as direct perpetrators. Our detectives from Münster are happy to assist your company both in a preventative advisory capacity and with our core task — investigating the offence tailored to the specific case.

North Rhine-Westphalia as a Transit Region Particularly Affected

As usual, freight thieves struck particularly intensively in North Rhine-Westphalia in 2016: compared with the previous year the number of police-recorded cases in the state rose by 20 per cent to 690 (figures including December had not been officially published at the time), and in some areas such as the district of Soest the figure even doubled. Within a few weeks in Soest, 19 pallets of Lego toys were stolen and shortly afterwards 27 pallets of consumer electronics. The thieves chose the period shortly before the major Christmas business deliberately. As one of the largest European economic centres on the route between East and West Europe, the Ruhr area sees enormous transit traffic, which also affects East Westphalia via the A2 — both regions border the Münsterland. The police clearance rate is only around 10 per cent of cases. The focus there is more on prevention than on solving cases, and calls are made for better secured parking areas to make committing offences more difficult. While our private detective agency in Münster also assists with prevention, in the clear majority of cases we are engaged to investigate — to help those for whom the police and public prosecutors can no longer, or will no longer, provide relief.

Of course, it is not only North Rhine-Westphalia that is affected but all of Germany. Accordingly, our Münster corporate detectives operate not only in Westphalia and the Münsterland but nationwide and also abroad when the trail of stolen goods leads, for example, to Poland or Romania. Inexperienced hauliers do not yet know which stretches of road in Germany — or abroad — it is safer to drive through without stopping. Hajo Fleig, managing director of the haulage firm Josef Fleig GmbH from Mülheim an der Ruhr, cites routes such as Groningen–Amsterdam and warns against pauses between the Spanish cities of Saragossa and Valencia as particularly risky, as well as stretches heading towards southern Italy.

Attacks from Within or Outsiders? — Kurtz Detective Agency Münster Investigates Both Directions

Although drivers of course often deny any collusion, there are rotten apples who trample their professional ethics and act as accomplices in freight robberies. It would therefore be negligent for our Münster detectives not to check the driver of the stolen vehicle during casework. Whether with assistance or not: perpetrators often lie in wait at service areas to attack sleeping or even drugged drivers, or they shadow the lorry by GPS or surveillance from the depot. If they can observe the loading process, they know exactly which vehicles are worthwhile to attack. Other offenders select victims opportunistically rather than by cargo value and slash lorry tarpaulins at random, without knowing what is being transported. Warehouse staff where goods are loaded sometimes pass on information about the cargo, the routes and likely laybys and thus knowingly or negligently assist the thieves. Clever freight thieves even conduct pretextual conversations with informants to extract essential information.

There are consequently many possible internal leaks and methods by which skilled perpetrators can obtain details about consignments and cargo. Vigilance on all sides is therefore an absolute must.

Your Goods Were Stolen and the Police Are Powerless? Our Private Detectives from Münster Can Help.

If your company has been affected by one or more transport thefts, our detective team from Münster will be pleased to assist. Through analogue and digital enquiries, evidence searches at the crime scene, inquiries into vehicle ownership, surveillance and various other investigative methods, we are able to pick up and follow the trail of stolen goods and missing lorries. You can reach us during business hours on: +49 251 7009 0014.