Freight insurance provider TT Club is shedding light on a concerning trend in the logistics industry, the existence of a shadow supply chain for freight crime. This clandestine network mirrors legitimate supply chains, employing the same components, from route planning to warehousing. Stolen goods are then marketed and sold through legitimate platforms to unsuspecting buyers. TT Club emphasizes the need for collective awareness and action to address this supply chain ‘Black hole.’

Organized crime is a significant player in freight crime, operating with a profit-driven motive akin to legitimate businesses. Criminals in this space possess sophisticated logistics skills, mirroring the processes of legal supply chains in storage, transport, distribution, and marketing of stolen goods. Their expertise allows them to target shipments at various points, including truck hijackings and thefts from unsecured warehouses.

Josh Finch from TT Club stresses the responsibility that landlords bear in vetting tenants of storage facilities to prevent properties from being used for illegal purposes. A recent UK police operation uncovered a warehouse in Bradford containing pallets of stolen goods linked to cargo theft incidents over six years, totaling millions of pounds in value.

Finch adds, “Landlords must ensure that the sites they own and lease are not being used for illegal purposes, and TT Club is working to identify warning signs and due diligence measures.” These measures include background checks on potential tenants, regular inspections of premises, monitoring tenant activity with modern technologies like security cameras, collaboration with local law enforcement, review of lease agreements specifying permissible uses, and engagement of professional services for security.

Law enforcement agencies are increasingly providing evidence that a shadow supply chain operates alongside legitimate transport, utilizing the same components. TT Club emphasizes that addressing this black hole requires a collective effort from all supply chain stakeholders, including law enforcement agencies and warehouse landlords, to mitigate the ongoing threat and safeguard the integrity of the supply chain.