‘Terminal Robbery’ * USA - Thieves hit L.A. Port area; becoming common

Anually steal merchandise valued at more than $10 billion nationwide

Los Angeles,CAL,USA -The Trucker News Services -12 Nov 2010: -- Police did not disclose contents of the trailers, but cargo thieves annually steal merchandise valued at more than $10 billion nationwide and the L.A. area is reported to be the “epicenter” of cargo theft activity... In a type of crime that is becoming known as a “terminal robbery,” thieves Sunday night made off with three trailers, each loaded with valuable merchandise, at a depot near the Port of Los Angeles, the Los Angeles Times reports... A man pretending to be a lost driver asking for directions duped a security guard into coming outside the cargo area to give him directions and the man and two others hit him the guard in the face and warned him they would use their weapons on him if he resisted... The assailants overpowered the guard and another employee and bound and gagged them and “with military precision” opened the depot to “a small fleet” of tractors and began hooking up the loaded trailers, the news report stated...

* In Georgia, trucking industry fights cargo theft. Bureau of Investigation starts major theft unit, has seized more than $17M of stolen cargo

Augusta,GA,USA -The Augusta Chronicle/SecurityInfoWatch, by KYLE MARTIN -29 Nov 2010: ... Authorities say, Georgia is a major hub for shipping companies, with an estimated 43.5 million truckloads of cargo valued at $1.4 trillion passing through the state in 2009... That's an attractive lure for thieves, who break the locks on trailers or force drivers to open them at gunpoint. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation created a Major Theft Unit specifically to address this problem and has seized more than $17 million in stolen cargo... In Augusta, sheriff's office reports show thieves steal whatever they find in cargo trucks, from beef broth and boxed wine to toilet paper... Last year, trucks hauling frozen beef and $8.8 million worth of pharmaceuticals were stolen from Haralson County on the Alabama state line. Those types of incidents make cargo theft a "huge issue" for both truckers and consumers, said Edward Crowell, the president and CEO of the Georgia Motor Trucking Association... Crowell added that stolen goods, including medicine and improperly refrigerated food, will find their way back into the market... The problem is that many of the goods are sold on the Internet and have already disappeared by the time authorities are aware of a theft, Cannon said...