Modus Operandi by Mauro Corvasce (universal ebook reader txt) 📕

remove the VIN plates, the paperwork, and the plates, send them back to the United States and place them on a similar, but stolen, vehicle. This stolen vehicle is then shipped following regular procedures from the United States to the country where it was requested.

Gray Market Vehicles

A gray market vehicle is basically any vehicle manufactured in a foreign country for use in that country and not for export into the United States. These vehicles are not made according to the United States's emissions and safety standards and often have defects that could result in fires and poor performance; some even lack rearview and passenger-side mirrors. These vehicles are usually represented as vehicles that have been converted to United States standards, but nothing has been changed.

Gray market vehicles are ideal candidates for insurance fraud because they are cheaper to obtain, thus making market value higher than purchase price. The owner can purchase the gray market vehicle, sell it to a chop shop, report it stolen, and recoup a sizable profit from the insurance company.

Heavy Industrial and Construction Equipment

Insurance companies estimate that heavy industrial construction and farm vehicle thefts create a billion dollar a year loss. These types of vehicles contain few if any anti-theft devices and some can even be started without a key. They are easy targets because they are often found in vacant lots and in rural areas. The method our thieves use is very simple: They climb aboard, start the engine, and drive away. Sometimes the vehicles are placed onto a semi-tractor trailer. This operation requires at least two people.

Once the vehicle is obtained, it will be sold using phony documentation, either by direct sale or auction. There is little or no paperwork involved with these vehicles because they are not registered since they are mostly driven off-road. The only identification on some of these vehicles is an engine number, so fraudulent paperwork is easy to obtain.

Hijacking

Remember that the hijacking of today is an interesting renewal of the hijacking that occurred in the ancient history of this country. Stagecoaches, trucks, caravans, merchant ships and other types of transportation have, in their time, been taken by what was known in the past as "highlanding." But, the modern hijacker has exceeded his predecessors in both the amount of earnings and in the finesse and skill required.

In a single hijacking, several hundred thousand dollars worth of easily marketable merchandise is available. This is because the capacity of the modern tractor trailer truck is enormous. The items taken during a hijacking are usually consumer-oriented goods, which can easily be sold. Items such as liquor, television sets, refrigerators, washing machines, and cigarettes are commonly stolen.

Truck hijacking seems to be mainly an organized crime caper. We all know that teamsters have a certain amount of organized crime behind them. Because of this, schedules, routes, drivers and cargo can all be manipulated for the benefit of the thieves.

Hijacking while the vehicle is in motion on its route takes a series of operations that require skillful planning, perfect timing and expert execution. At the peak level of organization, a hijacking gang will work in the following manner: The fingerman (usually an employee of a trucking firm) informs the gang of an expected shipment, including the nature of the merchandise, the schedule, the make of the truck, and the license plate number. The spotter points out the truck to the men actually doing the hijacking and follows it to the drop (area where merchandise is unloaded). The gunmen stop the truck at a prearranged location and either remove the driver to their car or bind, gag and place him in the hijacked truck.

A hijacker without a reliable fence is at a very serious disadvantage. The fence plays a major role in the success of these types of crimes. Many hijackings are steal-to-order jobs. Once a truck is targeted and selected because of the cargo it carries, organized crime will investigate the vulnerability of the trucking company for a theft. Many times the hijacked loads are sold to persons even before they are stolen. You may recall during the gasoline shortage of the 1970s a rash of gasoline truck hijackings.

The Shipping Process

Let's talk about the shipping process, which hijackers are very familiar with. About 50 percent of all hijackings are inside jobs. Let's follow a carton of clothing being shipped from Harry's Hotpants in New York City to Mimi's Minis in Miami, Florida:

The Packager. At Harry's Hotpants (the shipper), the goods are carefully packed in cardboard containers, which are then steel strapped. The name and address of Mimi's is placed on labels stuck to the side of each carton. The order numbers are also placed on the side of each box.

The Traffic Manager. He prepares what is known as a bill of lading in triplicate describing the shipment and giving it an order number.

The Shipping Clerk. The shipping clerk of Harry's calls the trucking company to request that they make a pick-up.

The Dispatcher. After receiving the request from the shipping clerk, the dispatcher of the trucking company orders one of the drivers working in the neighborhood to make the pick-up.

The City Pick-Up Driver. The driver makes the pick-up after first checking the packaging and the labeling of each carton. He proceeds to the motor freight terminal. Best practices require him to close and lock a steel folding gate after each pick-up.

The Freight Terminal Action. At the motorfreight terminal, the shipment is unloaded onto a platform by the truck driver who picked it up. A manifest is written and the traffic and billing department of the transportation company receives the bill of lading. A waybill number is assigned to the shipment.

Terminal Loading. The shipment is then placed on a trailer, the doors are closed, and the transportation company lock is affixed together with the numbered, impressed seal. The seal number is recorded by the dispatcher. The seal number is also placed on the manifest and on the road driver's dispatch order. This is a separate seal number used just