Companies lost an estimated £14 million as a result of cargo theft on UK roads between April and June – up by £1m from the previous quarter despite a fall in the overall number of incidents from 454 in Q1 to 386.
Research from the BSI and the National Vehicle Crime Intelligence Service (NaVCIS) found that the most targeted commodities for cargo theft during Q2 were alcohol and tobacco products, and these products had an average loss of £36,436 per incident.
The highest-value single cargo loss in Q2 was £1.13 million, as thieves stole a trailer loaded with high fashion apparel products.
The BSI’s figures estimate that organisation made a loss of at least £54m in 2017 as a result of cargo theft, and categorises the UK as high risk.
The report found a slight rise in ‘around the corner’ thefts during the first half. This involve thieves impersonating company employees to deceive drivers into diverting cargo to new locations or transferring loads to unauthorized vehicles. Thieves can steal full loads of high-value goods in this way and so the high financial reward makes it particularly attractive.
However, ‘slash and grab’ remains the most prevalent theft type, accounting for 65 per cent of incidents recorded during the second quarter.
