Modus Operandi (8 page)

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 to protect the integrity of the shipment.

Alarm System.
The trailer is then assigned to a tractor. Ideally, it is equipped with an automatic alarm that will sound a warning if it is disturbed at any time while in transit or unattended. The alarm is set by the dispatcher at the terminal with a master key. Some of the alarms, which you may have seen on the sides of trucks, are manufactured by Babaco. This alarm can now be turned off only by the dispatcher in Miami, Florida, with his master key.

The Road Drivers.
The driver receives his instructions from the dispatcher: he is to be relieved by two other drivers in relay along the Eastern Seaboard route. In compliance with Inter-State Commerce Commission regulations, he will maintain a driver's log showing the times of driving and the times of rest. As an additional check, some tractors are equipped with an instrument that records automatically the periods of driving and stopping as well as the speed of the vehicle.

Arrival.
Upon reaching the Miami terminal, the driver checks in with the Miami dispatcher and gives him a report of the trip, a copy of the logs, and a pouch containing bills and instructions concerning the load. The shipment is then unloaded and checked against the manifest. It is imperative, at this point, that the seal has not been disturbed. If that seal is broken, of course, it will mean that someone has had access to the shipment while it was in transit from Harry's Hotpants to Mimi's Minis.

The City Delivery.
At the Miami terminal, the cartons are checked and loaded into a city or local delivery truck, which goes to Mimi's clothing warehouse. The doors are unlocked and the cartons are placed on the platform where they are checked by the receiving clerk who signs the waybill. He may mark the cartons with the date and time of delivery and a symbol to indicate if they were in acceptable condition.

Let's say our bad guy reviews the shipping orders and knows that a truckload of brand new, top-of-the-line, large-screen TVs is being transported from San Francisco to New York City. Using their influence, the bad guys install a driver loyal to the cause. This driver will be given a route to follow, but prior to arriving in New York City, a slight detour will occur. In some out of the way place, the driver, along with his accomplices, will either unload the cargo into a waiting tractor trailer, or give up the tractor trailer itself. To make it appear realistic, the driver may even be tied up or assaulted. The driver will then continue on his merry way avoiding any law enforcement inspection stops or weight stations. Once the driver feels his accomplices are safe and secure, he will contact the local law enforcement agency and report the crime.

The same scheme could be used on shorter runs. We have both worked on numerous cases where, of all things, seafood trucks have been hijacked. New Jersey has a substantial number of seafood restaurants, co-ops and fish markets. Seafood is very expensive and practically nontrace-able. We all know a fish is a fish and has no vehicle registration numbers, so tracing these edible delights is impossible. Just about all the seafood-truck hijackings we have worked on, even though it wasn't always proven, seemed to have had an insider. When we talk about seafood trucks, we're talking about medium-sized, refrigerated panel trucks.

Less than semi-size trucks are usually hijacked at truck stops. A gunman will direct the driver to a semi-secluded area where the transfer is made. Waiting in this area is a truck similar in size to the hijacked one. A number of accomplices will be standing by and, in just about all the ones we have worked on, these accomplices will be wearing some type of ski mask or other face covering to prevent recognition. All will be wearing gloves, not only to not leave any fingerprints, but to aid in carrying the heavy crates. Once the transfer is made, the driver of the hijacked vehicle will be made to walk back to the road or be tied up and left to be discovered. The only problem with tying the driver is the criminals must make certain that the victim will be discovered quickly before the victim is injured or dies from exposure to the elements.

Trucks containing merchandise are sometimes parked on city streets or in fenced-in parking lots. These trucks usually have just a padlock, which can easily be cut with a pair of bolt cutters. Local street gangs find this easy prey; they either climb over or cut through the fence, go to either the rear or side door and cut the padlock to gain entry. Once inside, a quick survey will be conducted, and items are removed. They seldom take all the cargo, usually just what they can carry.

Another technique for truck hijacking occurs when a trucker pulls into a truck stop for some food and fuel. While at the truck stop, the truck driver will meet a very friendly lady who will persuade him to give her a ride down the road. Once on their way, the lady brandishes a weapon and forces the driver to a location where her accomplices are waiting to receive the merchandise.

Hew Police Capture Hijackers

There are common methods the police use to link hijackers to the crime:

1. Sideview mirrors, rearview mirrors, window, cab door ledges and handles, side and rear doors, are the most likely places where hijackers leave fingerprints. This is one of the reasons that some hijackers wear gloves. Another reason is to avoid drawing attention to themselves, as many truck drivers wear leather gloves.

2. Any dirt left inside the truck cab such as soil on the clutch peddle can be linked to shoes, which may be found later by the police. As you know, dirt and soil from a particular area can be positively linked to the same type of soil when it is discovered inside the treads of the criminal's shoes.

3. Anything that may be partially on the hijacker and partially left in the cab, such as matchbooks, will not be left behind by the professional hijacker.

4. Shoe and heel prints. Of course some hijackers may be aware that cartons found in the body of the truck will have to be stepped on and climbed over. Additionally, in the haste of unloading and ripping open cartons to reveal merchandise and reload it, many times heel and shoe prints will be left on cartons. The experienced hijacker will destroy these cartons at a different site or burn the trailer with the cartons on site after the load is transferred.

5. The distance traveled. By estimating the distance in which the truck has traveled, clues can be obtained by detectives in regard to the neighborhood of the drop. The odometer reading can be taken and compared to the mileage recorded when the tank was last filled with gas. The amount of gasoline in the truck is a good indication of the upper limit of the radius of the operation. Some experienced hijackers have been known to drain the tank completely of gasoline, which is very easy to do simply by using a hose as a syphon. Sometimes hijackers will disembowel the internal components of an odometer to make the actual mileage traveled impossible to detect.

6. The top of the cab. The New York City Safe, Loft and Truck Squad initiated an operational procedure many years ago to paint the top of the cab with numbers. In case the truck was hijacked it could be easily observed by helicopters. Of course the top of the cab is usually huge and the numbers are painted as large as possible. When we are dealing with hijackings that are well-planned and well-organized, the fingerman will have all of the information of the truck, so the hijackers come prepared with paint to match the top of the cab.

7. Informants. Criminals know as well as the police that warehouse employees, former criminals, gas station attendants, and self-service or road service people are frequently interviewed to determine if they can ascertain the location and descriptions of people that participated in the hijacking.

Skyjacking

Skyjacking is the most dramatic and highly visible form of terrorism even though it is not the most frequently employed. Skyjacking illustrates perfectly all of the elements of terrorist crimes and so is perhaps the most useful of examples. It is also the form of terrorism that presents the most personal risk to American citizens.

Approximately thirty years have passed since skyjacking became a familiar word to the American public. Today the crime remains the same but the stakes are far higher, for skyjacking is a weapon of terror turned against America.