Food theft has gone from a matter of a few dollars per incident to an ‘industry’ in which high-value comestibles are being hoisted in truckload quantities like never before. Hamjacking has become as lucrative as bootlegging…
Professional criminals are motivated by a number of factors. They all add up to ‘money’, but present themselves in different ways. If the temptation is great enough, professional crooks will find a way…
The crime triangle…
There are the three main, classic factors in play: motive, means and opportunity. They call that the Crime Triangle. If the temptation to steal something is great enough, and one or all of the classic factors is favourable, professional thieves will do almost anything to overcome any obstacles in their way.
Lately, as food prices have risen to record levels, high-value foods and beverages have become more-tempting theft targets than ever before.
Caste histories…
Remember the great whiskey embezzlement scandal in Kentucky a few years back? Security was so lax that employees were able to simply walk into the warehouses at the distilleries that make Wild Turkey and Pappy Van Winkle brand bourbons. And drive away with booze by the case and even barrel. It took years for the ‘shortages’ to to be discovered.
Just a couple of years ago, thieves boldly broke into the giant warehouse/vault where the Quebec Maple Syrup Cooperative keeps its surplus reserve, and drove off, again with truckloads of product.
Then, there was the theft of more than 400 legs of prized Ibirico ham from an Andalusian maker, valued at more than (US)$500 per leg.
More recently, a brazen con job resulted in the loss of more than 24 tons / 22 metric tonnes of artisanal cheddar cheese from one of Britain’s most acclaimed creameries.
Nothing sacred?
This past week, thieves may have set a record with the hijacking of two transport truck loads of Santo Tequila, one partner in which is well-known chef-entrepreneur Guy Fieri (see photo, top of page).
Distillery spokesperson Dan Butkus says 4,040 cases / 24,240 bottles of one of the brand’s most ex-clusive labels – valued at more than (US)$1 million – disappeared in a complex, technology-enabled ‘trailer swap’ scheme in Laredo, TX. The trucking company involved, Johanson, actually ‘lost’ two transport trailers – one headed for California, the other for Pennsylvania.
A spokesman says the loads were apparently illegally ‘re-brokered’ to a different carrier using some fancy computer manipulations. And GPS trackers were ‘spoofed’ to make it look as though the ve-hicles were still on their originally intended courses. By the time the deception was discovered, Johanson says, the booze could have been anywhere in the country. Maybe, in the world…
My take
The overarching message is… This kind of food and drink mega-theft is becoming more and more common as rising prices make the goods more tempting targets.
Law enforcement officials say producers and their supply-chain partners need to tighten up security accordingly, to levels that befit the actual elevated value of the goods.
You can help stop it!
Celebrities and officials alike are begging consumers to keep their eyes open. And if they see some-thing suspicious, say something!
So… If you’re offered a case of Santo Blanco Reposado Tequila at an unbelievable price this holiday season, let someone in authority know, ASAP. You may get a ‘good deal’. Which is an even better deal at Holiday time, when your cash is already spread pretty thin.
But every bottle of booze, leg of ham or wheel of cheese that ‘falls off the back of a truck’ hurts its maker and potentially makes the products costlier and scarcer in future.
Not to mention… Receiving or selling stolen goods is a serious crime in every legal jurisdiction on Earth. As Dirty Harry said to the punk… “You’ve got to ask yourself one question: ‘Do I feel lucky?'”
~ Maggie J.