Thieves make off with two GSK shipments

GlaxoSmithKline suffered two in-transit cargo thefts in Pennsylvania, USA, late last month, with a combined value estimated at about $400,000. One trailer load of products has since been recovered, thanks to an on-board GPS tracking device.

The two trailer loads contained personal care products such as Aquafresh mouthwash and Sensodyne toothpaste and were taken at a logistics provider terminal in York. The thieves moved the loads to another logistics provider site, stole a tractor fitted with the GPS device, and drove one of the trailers away. It was subsequently recovered with about two-thirds of its contents in New Jersey.

The other trailer remains unaccounted for, according to an update from the Pharmaceutical Cargo Security Consortium.

Other cargo theft news in brief

- The Florida TOMCATS - a specialist police group focusing on cargo theft - has recovered a load of around 35,000 albuterol 3ml vials worth around $500,000 which had been stolen back in August 2009. The theft occurred whilst in transit from a manufacturing site in South Carolina to a distribution centre in Texas.

- Proctor & Gamble lost a shipment of its products (assorted razors and related items) worth over $600,000 from a truckstop in Iowa on July 3. The load was being carried by shipping firm Schneider National.

- A full truck load (FTL) of pharmaceutical products stolen from a truck stop in Virginia, USA, was recovered on June 25 thanks to the use of a Freightwatch covert tracking device. The GPS tracking unit in the tractor had been disabled by the thieves. Police recovered the trailer within 100 miles of the theft in Tennessee.