But the FBI can only base its estimate on reported thefts and, according to Petow, local authorities are not required to report incidents to the bureau. Estimate of losses 'bogus' Cargo theft often takes place during evening hours. Companies hide losses by maintaining high insurance deductibles, below which they pay for losses themselves, Badolato explained. That precludes the need to report cargo losses to anyone. If cargo theft is hard to quantify, it's even harder to control.
Police complain that courts treat nonviolent cargo theft as low-priority property crime.
Meanwhile, jurisdictional conflicts keep local police from tackling the problem effectively. According to cargo-theft experts, most goods are taken near ports and then transferred to waiting cargo containers and quickly shipped out of the country. At ports like Miami, stolen goods such as perfume, fashions, small electronics and, of course, expensive computers and components vanish in a flood of legitimate commerce. That means buyers have international outlets for the goods, not to mention false documents and the know-how to move things past Customs. Cargo theft is a very organized business.