Incident:  Rail Pilferage, Arrest, and Multiple Recoveries  

Over the weekend, Overhaul enabled the arrest of at least one suspect and the recovery of cargo from multiple thefts against multiple victims.  

On Saturday, Nov 4, a shipment of apparel was pilfered from its container on rail in Kingman, AZ. Coordinating with the BNSF rail police, Los Angeles, and Torrance PDs, the Overhaul LE Connect team provided officers with the ability to see real time location and sensor data via the Risk Monitoring platform on their own devices.  

This data led police to a location where they observed a known criminal driver with a tractor trailer. The driver was arrested, and five search warrants were issued from the evidence gathered at the scene. At least one of these warrants has been executed, resulting in the recovery of the stolen footwear, as well as the recovery of other previously stolen cargo, including power tools and home appliances, from a storage locker location.   

Cargo on rail is notoriously difficult to secure, requiring granular visibility to be able to identify, let alone recover, stolen cargo before it arrives at destination.  

Overhaul recommends that shippers of targeted and high demand or high value products over rail employ as many visibility solutions as able. The ability to pinpoint the location and time of theft enables coordination and cooperation of the appropriate Law Enforcement entities and can be the crucial pieces of data that allow Law Enforcement to be successful.  

Over rail, control of the cargo is far less than over the road, and so contextual intelligence, remote compliance monitoring, real time visibility, and an immediate escalation process with a path to effective law enforcement engagement are critical to recognizing and recovering stolen cargo.