6 September 2024

Whilst logistics operators are well aware of the involvement of organised crime group (OCGs) in cargo theft enterprises, it is important for the industry to remember that the threat posed by organised criminality to logistics operations is multifaceted.

By Jeanne Albin, LandRisk Manager

The involvement of Organised Crime Groups (OCGs) in cargo crime throughout Europe is a well-known fact. It is, after all, a relatively low-risk, high-reward crime—and thus presents as a highly attractive venture for criminal enterprises. Indeed, whilst different types of actors are involved in this type of crime, data has times and times again highlighted the responsibility of mobile and organised professional groups of criminals with access to significant networks of contacts, resources, and logistical support.

Nonetheless, threat actors involved in this kind of enterprises are multifaceted—a fact sometimes overlooked by the logistics industry discussing the matter. Thus, whilst ‘specialised’ groups specifically focused on stealing goods from vehicles parked in non-secure parking areas along the European motorway system remain the primary threat to local logistics operators, there is evidence of more ‘generalist’ groups using cargo crime as part of a wider strategy operating throughout the region—either by providing a different source of income, to finance other activities, or to access resources necessary to carry out other crimes. The recent theft of a shipment of acetic anhydride (a substance often used in the production of narcotics such as heroin) from a Rotterdam facility perhaps best illustrates this point. A few months prior, the discovery of drug waste in two stolen trucks recovered in the Dutch city of Goirle or the theft of a large quantity of drugs, cigarettes, and agents used in the product of cocaine from a facility used to store goods confiscated by the Belgian customs are further examples demonstrating the close link that sometimes exist between trafficking activities and crimes targeting the supply chain.

In fact, even when theft is not involved, the tie between organised criminality and legitimate supply chain operations remains significant. Road transports continue to be used by human smuggling networks to facilitate the movement of irregular migrants between European countries, for instance. Another example is that of the physical congregation of OCGs involved in the transnational drug trade in Dutch or Belgian industrial estates. The increased presence of such actors in the region is partly explained by the fact that the factors that make the area an appealing location to lawful businesses also are of interest to illegal enterprises: both countries are global trading hubs with major ports used as points of entry for smuggled substances, and the region presents several of the world’s major logistics centres. It is thus perhaps not surprising to see cities such as Rotterdam and Antwerp progressively become major smuggling (and to a lesser extent, production) hotspots.

Though the impact of this development on the road transport industry is thankfully limited, this trend has been linked to increased levels of violence as competition and criminal influence between rivals grew. And whilst OCGs operating locally do not threaten the official authorities as is, unfortunately, witnessed in other parts of the world, incidents such as the discovery of c. 900 litres of chemicals used in narcotics production stored in a container rental facility in Pinjnacker earlier this year, for example, illustrate the more subtle ways through which the flourishing trade can be a threat to legal business and supply chain operations, as groups make use of the existing infrastructure and mingle in busy industrial estates.

UPCOMING WEBINAR:

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