South Africa recorded 2 670 incidents of cargo theft across all nine of its provinces for the latest 18-month period monitored by the Europe, Middle East and Africa region (Emea) of the Transported Asset Protection Association (Tapa).
According to the Cargo Crime 18-Month Report compiled by the Tapa Emea Intelligence System (TIS), of the 2 670 recorded incidents, 2 236 were truck hijackings.
Included in this, the association has said in a statement, “were multiple attacks on freight facilities, costing business tens of millions in product losses”.
More tellingly, Tapa Emea said crime data for the period showed a combined loss figure of R577 million – based on only 3.4% of recorded crimes sharing their actual financial losses.
“The average loss for major incidents involving goods worth €100 000 stood at €947 862 per crime, or R18.3m,” the association said.
Tapa Emea, which records loss from theft in euros, broke down its data for the period as follows:
- €5 994 652 – clothing and footwear stolen from an origin facility in Durban
- €5 458 860 – cobalt hydroxide taken from a warehouse facility in Gauteng province
- €4 745 897 – theft of car parts en route in Eastern Cape
- €2 250 000 – trailers and goods stolen from an origin facility in Kempton Park, Gauteng
- €1 185 824 – 1 540 cases of liquor stolen in a truck hijacking in Western Cape
- €575 580 – copper stolen in a truck hijacking in Johannesburg
- €486 316 – another theft of car parts in Eastern Cape
- €356 350 – 38 tonnes of copper rods and four trailers stolen in Ehlanzeni, Mpumalanga
- €323 908 – fuel taken from an origin facility in Limpopo
- €120 000 – groceries stolen from a truck travelling on the N2 en route to Gqeberha
In addition to what is revealed in the report, the association said: “New data issued last week by the South African Police Service (SAPS) reveals a 9.8% year-over-year rise in truck hijackings in Q4 2022, with a total of 492 incidents over this 92-day period.”
Thorsten Neumann, president and CEO of the association, said: “The SAPS is working proactively to reduce truck hijackings and other types of cargo crimes and we applaud their initiative. They are also one of the few law enforcement agencies globally to record truck hijackings and cash-in-transit robberies as specific crime categories, which is especially useful intelligence for our member companies.
“However, the solution to rising crime is not just down to the actions of the police. Companies can do more to protect their supply chains if they understand the types of crimes, the modus operandi of cargo thieves, where incidents are occurring, and the types of goods being stolen. Tapa Emea has this insight. We also have effective supply chain security standards which can protect facilities and trucking operations, and we are confident these can contribute significantly to preventing losses and protecting employees from the types of attacks we are recording.”
Referring to an upcoming one-day conference (*) that Tapa Emea will hold in Johannesburg, Neumann said: “This event aims to help all supply chain stakeholders understand the level of cargo crime taking place across South Africa and to offer intelligence and solutions to increase their supply chain resilience and prevent losses. For victim companies, such high-value losses impact customer relationships, damage their reputations, and can lead to rising costs, such as higher insurance premiums. And, tragically, as a result of the high level of violence seen in many attacks, we are also regularly notified of drivers, security guards, and law enforcement officers losing their lives during cargo crime incidents in South Africa.”
* The one-day conference on March 7 will be held at Emperor’s Palace in Kempton Park. To register go to https://conference.tapaemea.org/.
