It has come to light that criminals are acquiring haulage companies under false pretenses to masquerade as legitimate truckers, subsequently making off with truckloads of parcels, often in broad daylight.
One particular group is accused of using the identity of a deceased individual to establish multiple haulage businesses.
These sham companies were then contracted by an unsuspecting transport firm, which entrusted them with the responsibility of delivering goods.
Unfortunately, the trucks, once loaded with parcels, vanished without a trace.
In the Midlands, a fraudulent subcontractor was discovered to have absconded with goods valued at £75,000, using counterfeit license plates.
This incident is just one example of the audacious methods employed by thieves targeting haulage companies that distribute retail and other essential supplies nationwide, as revealed by a recent investigation.
Other footage shows ways the gangs are targeting trucks – such as breaking into vehicles while they are stuck in traffic or raiding lorries as they make deliveries.
Some truck drivers, who often have to stop and sleep overnight in their cabs, have also awoken to find their shipments stolen.
Footage has revealed incidents of thieves targeting trucks in broad daylight
In one instance, raiders were seen stealing goods from the back of a truck in stationary traffic
In another theft, gang members were filmed cutting locks so they could enter a depot before driving away with trailers full of goods.
Such crimes have soared in recent years, up from £68million-worth of stolen goods in 2023 to £111million last year – though police say the actual value is likely much higher.
And Britons could increasingly feel the impact of the crime in their wallets as the costs of products are expected to rise as more are stolen.
Richard Smith, managing director of the Road Haulage Association, warned the industry was ‘under attack’, calling the rising thefts ‘deeply concerning’.
According to the the National Police Chiefs’ Council, freight crime is becoming ‘more sophisticated and more organised’ and police forces across the country are being urged to work with the industry to respond.
The sophisticated criminal gangs have been uncovered following a BBC investigation which found a company in the Midlands hired a subcontractor whose official ownership was registered to a man that was dead.
The unnamed business hired a haulage firm called Zus Transport, which had been sold a month before the robbery and there is no suggestion they were involved in any wrongdoing.
Zus Transport and five other transport companies are owned by Ionut Calin – someone who died in November 2024, as confirmed by Romanian officials.
His death was months before his bank details were used to buy several of the companies and his name used to register three of them at Companies House.
In another brazen theft, gang members were filmed cutting the locks in order to enter a depot before they drove away with whole trailers full of goods
Some drivers reported waking up in their cabins to discover criminals had broken into their trucks overnight
There is no evidence that Mr Calin was involved in the crimes apart from the fraudulent use of his name after his death.
Owners of the transport company, unsurprisingly, never spoke to Mr Calin and instead they spoke with a man who went by the name ‘Benny’.
The BBC’s investigation identified Benny as Benjamin Mustata after a former former owner of one of the transport companies recognised him from a photo.
A number linked to Mr Mustata was also used to arrange collection of the goods stolen by the subcontractors who were scammed in the Midlands.
When approached for a comment outside a luxury car showroom in Coventry, he admitted buying Zus Transport, but said he did so on behalf of a relative and was not in control of the company at the time of the theft.
He claimed somebody else had been using Zus Transport’s name on a subcontracting platform, and that they must have stolen the goods.
Mr Mustata added the stolen load had ‘nothing’ to do with him, adding: ‘It’s not my fault.’
RHA Managing Director, Richard Smith told the Daily Mail: ‘Our industry is under attack. We hear it every day from road freight businesses; anything from clothing and electrical goods to food, alcohol, and perfumes are prey for highly organised criminal gangs who are plotting journeys, monitoring hauliers’ activity, and stealing high-value goods.
‘Freight crime is rising sharply and becoming more serious, more organised, and more intelligence led. We’ve heard from police about a recent growth in a much more sophisticated approach – where these fraudsters are using newer methods to trick businesses, collect data online and gain access to goods. This is deeply concerning.’
Speaking to the BBC, Deputy Chief Constable Jayne Meir, the NPCC’s first lead for freight crime, said a new team at Opal – a police intelligence unit tackling organised acquisitive crime – would start targeting the issue next year.
But in the meantime, business owners such as Alison say crimes like these have a ‘massive impact’.
‘We’re going home at night and we’re not sleeping,’ she said.
‘Haulage businesses don’t make a lot of money and it only takes something like this and you’re out of business.’
