Mon, 17 Nov 2025

Mon, 17 Nov 2025 Gangs buy haulage firms to steal lorryloads of goods

These tactics and others, such as raids on lorries stopped in traffic, are driving a freight-crime surge.
Criminal gangs have been buying up haulage firms and posing as truckers to steal goods by the lorryload, a BBC investigation has found. The investigation uncovered evidence that a group of haulage companies were purchased using a dead man's identity. One of these firms was then hired as a subcontractor by an unwitting UK transport company. A manufacturer loaded one of the subcontractor's lorries up with goods, which were then never seen again. The owner of the Midlands transport firm that was tricked into hiring the fake subcontractors said it was "incredible" that a gang could target her company so blatantly. Freight theft in the UK rose to £111m last year, from £81m in 2023. A fraud lawyer described the scheme targeting one haulage firm as "well set-up", involving identity fraud and deceiving Companies House. The BBC investigation identified a man named Benjamin Mustata, who was linked to the stolen goods and had used a dead man's identity to buy one of the transport companies. However, he denied any involvement in the thefts and claimed someone else must have been using his company's name on a subcontracting platform. Labour MP Rachel Taylor said the investigation "lays bare what I hear constantly from hauliers: that increasingly sophisticated crime gangs are having a huge impact on their businesses". She called for a "joined up national policing strategy and more resources to tackle this issue". The National Police Chiefs' Council (NPCC) has set up a new team to target freight crime, but business owners say crimes like these have a "massive impact" on haulage firms.
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