Business, Freight News, Logistics

Don’t be an unwitting fence says TT Club

[ December 7, 2023   //   Chris Lewis ]

Freight insurance specialist TT Club is urging procurement managers to be more vigilant in ensuring that they are not unwitting receivers of stolen property. It says they should check the provenance of all incoming goods and ensure that documentation such as bills of sale, invoices and shipping records are present.

They should there should be regular audits by an external party particularly for high-risk goods such as electronics or luxury items.

The Club points out that receiving stolen property is illegal and provides a market for the criminals, leading to revenue and reputational damage to the rightful owners as well as the transport and storage business that serve them.

 TT’s managing director, loss prevention Mike Yarwood cites the example earlier this year of two containers of barbeque equipment destined for a high street retailer stolen from a depot in the UK. Two months later the owner of the goods, shopping in another store recognised the equipment and, by tracing the serial numbers, was able to identify them as those stolen earlier in the year. An ongoing legal wrangle has ensued.

Yarwood said: “A ready market for stolen goods is accessible to thieves if unknowing ‘receivers’ do not take sufficient care to ensure the goods they purchase are legitimate.”

Tags: TT Club