The benefits of collaborating around curbing cargo crime have been underscored by a major breakthrough involving German police, EU law enforcement agency Europol, French gendarmerie, authorities in the Czech republic and data provided by the Transported Asset Protection Association (Tapa). According to a report in UK publication Lloyd’s List, following carefully planned monitoring and infiltration of a Belarussian crime incident, the combined crime-fighting exercise resulted in the break-up of a gang suspected of carrying out at least 60 hits along the A7 motorway in the Hanover area of Germany. The gang is said to have specialised in attacking trucks parked in unsecure locations and its spree of cargo theft mainly in Germany, France as well as neighbouring European countries reportedly netted the syndicate’s masterminds an estimated €500 000 – well over eight million rand. Significantly, the dismantling of the syndicate comes within days after it emerged that Tapa and the EU are aligning their respective Parking Security Requirements (PSR) and Safe and Secure Parking Places for Trucks programme. The success that cargo theft syndicates have had on parked trucks in Europe, even those stationary in heavy-goods vehicle (HVG) parks, also serves to support the emphasis Tapa is placing on universally agreed-to safe and secure parking protocol. “It’s all about secure access control,” said Andre Duvenage, Tapa’s representative in South Africa. “Imagine what could be done in South Africa if we had parking facilities run along lines of best-standards practice. Through CCTV monitoring, entry and exit control, and pinpointed record-keeping we could substantially contribute towards enhanced sustainability for the industry in its totality.”