‘Sting trailer’ offers glimpse into world of cargo thieves

Willington — Somewhere in America, a tractor-trailer loaded with hidden surveillance equipment is parked at a truck stop or warehouse while authorities wait for thieves to steal it.

No one is sure when, or even if, crooks will take it. But such “sting trailers” have been successful in busting up crime rings and recovering pilfered merchandise.

“It’s like fishing,” said D.Z. Patterson, an investigator for Travelers insurance. “You’ve got your worm in the water, but there are hundreds of other worms out there. They have to pick yours.”

Cargo theft has become a huge problem that the FBI says causes $15 billion to $30 billion in losses each year in the U.S. Law enforcement and the insurance industry are fighting back by tempting thieves with “sting trailers” laden with cameras and GPS tracking devices, hidden within both the trailers and the inventory they contain.

The prevention efforts aren’t new, but the reason for them is particularly acute during the holiday shopping season, when such thefts tend to increase as crooks look to score from retailers loading up on merchandise, according to FreightWatch International, a security company based in Austin, Texas. Over time, the sting trailers have given authorities a glimpse into how this breed of thief operates and helped truck owners improve security.

Thieves prefer nondescript trailers that would be hard to identify after being stolen. Hidden cameras have recorded which locks are problematic for crooks, leading anti-fraud specialists to recommend truck owners install the highest-tech locks.

And, officials have learned, it’s better to hide GPS tracking systems as best you can, because the criminals know what they look like and how to disable them.

New York-based Travelers Cos., which has a large office in Hartford, believes it is the only insurance company using a sting trailer, though a handful of others are used by law enforcement agencies and retail and trucking companies. Its trailer was developed in 2008 at the company’s Windsor lab and is equipped with $100,000 worth of surveillance gear. Law enforcement agencies nationwide have used it hundreds of times, resulting in dozens of arrests.

“The primary purpose is to assist law enforcement in targeting organized cargo rings,” said Scott Cornell, a theft investigator for Travelers. “Every time the sting trailer breaks up a ring ... every trucking company or anyone in supply chain that moves cargo in that area benefits. It has clearly reduced thefts in areas where there have been arrests.”

But the effect is never permanent, he said.