In what is being compared to the 1990 film Goodfellas, in which thieves committed what is known as the 1978 Lufthansa heist, stealing over $5 million worth the cash and jewelry from Building 261 at the JFK airport, cargo thieves mimicked the film last week, this time stealing one of iPad’s newest products.
3,600 iPad Minis valued at $1.9 million were stolen from the same JFK airport building as in the movie on the night of Monday, November 12th.
The heist was found to be an insider job as authorities arrested Renel Rene Richardson, employee of JFK’s Cargo Air Services building, who “allegedly made suspicious inquiries to coworkers about the shipment, as well as where he might be able to access a forklift.” 1
Richardson acted as a lookout in the heist as two others entered the building, utilizing the airport’s forklift to load two pallets of the iPad minis into the truck just before another airport employee, who was arriving from dinner, began questioning the thieves, leading them to flee before they could load three other pallets of iPads onto the truck. 1, 2
The iPad Minis, which were a new product announced by Apple last month, are a hot item this Christmas and the load one of the first of its shipments to arrive from China that were to be delivered across the U.S. The truck and iPads are still reported as missing.
Theft results in a loss of more than $30 billion in the transportation/shipping industry each year. What’s even more stunning is that 85% or more of these thefts are a result of insider jobs, individuals who had the information/ability and used it for their own benefit.
Drivers utilize what they know about a shipment/trucking company, not to steal the freight themselves, but rather distribute their information to thieves in return for compensation.
Drivers have also been known to stage their own hijackings, arranging to leave their trucks unattended at a specific time in which their accomplice then moves in, stealing the loaded truck in exchange for money.
Visit www.roadscholar.com today and let Road Scholar Transport keep your freight safe not only during the holiday season but year round.
1http://appleinsider.com/articles/12/11/19/suspect-arrested-in-19m-ipad-mini-heist-at-jfk-airport
