The BBC has uncovered a scam in which criminal gangs purchase legitimate haulage companies and pose as subcontractors, allowing them to collect and disappear with valuable cargo worth thousands of pounds.
The fraud follows a pattern previously seen by Europol in mainland Europe, where legitimate companies on the brink of bankruptcy are bought by organised crime groups, who are then able to steal cargoes they have been contracted to pick up.
The BBC documentary Lorry Crime Exposed details one example, where a group of haulage companies was purchased using a dead man’s details.
One of the haulage firms was then hired as a subcontractor by an unwitting UK transport company. A manufacturer loaded one of the subcontractor’s lorries up with £75,000 of goods, which were then never seen again.
Watch the documentary here. Â
