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Criminal syndicates are reportedly purchasing established transport companies to masquerade as authentic drivers and systematically steal high-value cargo, according to new investigations.

Proof has surfaced indicating that several transport operations were purchased using deceased persons' personal information, enabling perpetrators to create bogus business structures.

Elaborate Deception Scheme

One haulage company was subsequently hired as a third-party provider by an unsuspecting UK transport company. Manufacturers then filled one of the contractor's lorries with merchandise that later disappeared completely.

The business owner, who operates a central England haulage company that was targeted by the fraudulent subcontractors, characterized the situation as "incredible" that "organized groups can infiltrate businesses so openly".

"You need to care because it affects your finances," stated an industry expert, previously a safety manager for a major retail chain.

Rising Freight Theft Figures

This audacious tactic constitutes just one of multiple ways perpetrators are targeting haulage firms that transport commercial stock and other supplies across the country, with cargo criminal activity in the UK rising to £111m last year from £68m in 2023.

Documented video shows perpetrators looting trucks during deliveries, forcing entry into transport while stopped in congestion, cutting locks and entering warehouses, and taking complete containers packed with merchandise.

Driver Experiences

Operators, who frequently need to pause and rest overnight in their cabs, have reported waking to discover the covered sides of their trucks slashed by thieves attempting to access the contents within, with shipments of designer clothing, alcohol and devices among the particularly frequent objectives.

Organized Response

Police authorities have stated that cargo crime is becoming "increasingly advanced, increasingly organized" and emphasized that law enforcement units must to collaborate with the industry to address the issue.

Deception targeting hauliers - encompassing perpetrators using bogus haulage companies - is rising in the UK, based on authoritative reports.

"The sector is being targeted," says Richard Smith, managing officer of a prominent transport association.

Intricate Examination

The fraud operation seems to follow a pattern earlier identified in mainland Europe, where "legitimate transport businesses on the brink of bankruptcy" are purchased by coordinated crime syndicates who collect multiple cargoes "and then disappear".

After the targeting of the business owner's company, handling personnel informed her that authorities were also examining similar crimes in other regions of the UK.

Detailed Case

The transport business, which moves millions of pounds throughout the country each year, had subcontracted to a less established transport firm for a job earlier this year.

"Their coverage was in place, their business licence was in place," she explains. "It looked great." The lorry came at the production company, filling machinery loaded it with DIY items and the lorry drove off, she states.

However unbeknownst to the business owner and the producers, the lorry had been using fake number plates. It disappeared with the shipment worth at £75,000.

"Initial indication we had about it was the receiving company contacted us and asked, 'where's our shipment disappeared to?'" Alison recalls. She attempted to contact the subcontractor, but the phone had been disconnected.

Personal Theft Component

So who had taken the goods? Researchers traced a convoluted path to try to determine the solution, involving a dead man's identity, a unknown Romanian female and a £150k luxury vehicle.

The business Alison contracted was named Zus Transport. A thirty days prior to the theft, it had been transferred by its previous owners - with zero suggestion they were involved in any improper activity.

Investigation discovered that the acquisition was funded by a bank transfer from a entity controlled by a UK-based Romanian lorry driver named Ionut Calin, who used his second name Robert.

Investigators found a group of multiple haulage businesses, including Zus Transport, apparently acquired by the individual this year.

But Mr Calin had died in November 2024, verified with government sources. This was several months before his bank information had been utilized to acquire multiple of the companies and his name employed to establish three of them at official business records.

Additional Investigation

Exists zero reason to believe he was participating in illegal activity, and numerous people on online platforms expressed respect to him as a decent person who helped others in the industry.

The previous owners of several of the haulage companies stated they had dealt not with Mr Calin, but with a individual called "Benny".

Researchers located him by examining the registered officer of Zus Transport named in official documents, a Eastern European female. Data about her is limited, but a contact details for her was found. When checked in communication applications, it displayed a account image of a young woman, with a alternative name, in a luxury vehicle.

The account image assisted in recognizing her as a family member of Mr Calin, and the spouse of a man called Benjamin Mustata. Mr Mustata and his wife had posed for a image when taking delivery of a high-end vehicle from a retailer in April, a week after the theft affecting the business owner's enterprise.

Encounter

When shown photographs from online platforms of the individual to a former proprietor of one of the haulage companies, he identified him as "Benny" - the individual he had encountered face-to-face to negotiate the transfer of the company.

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