Key points:
- Thieves took a container with 27,000+ products worth almost £1m (about €1.2m) from a Southampton haulage yard. The tractor unit’s number plates were changed up to 10 times.
- The goods are being resold online through more than 120 sellers; police in West Yorkshire are investigating similar offences.
- The RHA warns of more trailer thefts, curtain slashing and fuel theft before Christmas, and urges operators to check their Goods in Transit cover.
Six minutes, ten number plates
The container belonged to a shipment for Huski, a drinkware brand selling insulated wine tumblers, champagne flutes and beer and wine coolers. It had just been collected from the Port of Southampton and parked in a haulage yard on an industrial estate when it was taken.
The container loaded with Huski stock before departure. Credit: Huski UK
According to the company, CCTV captured a tractor unit entering the estate and leaving about six minutes later with the container. Police identified its registration, but the truck itself was believed to be stolen, and tracing it with automatic number plate recognition failed: its plates were reportedly changed three times in the first 40 minutes and up to ten times in total.
The next morning, the empty container was found abandoned in Doncaster, around 230 miles (370 km) away. Neither the goods nor the thieves have been found. The case has been passed to CID, and officers in West Yorkshire are investigating similar offences that may be linked.
The empty container was found in Doncaster the next morning. Credit: Huski UK
“This wasn’t a smash-and-grab. Whoever did it knew how to get in, move a full container, stay ahead of the cameras and number-plate recognition, and get the stock hundreds of miles away,” said Huski co-founder Simon Huesser.
From one container to 540 online listings
The stolen products are now appearing on eBay, Facebook Marketplace, Whatnot and Vinted. Huski says it has found more than 540 listings from over 120 sellers and has had more than 500 of them removed. Police say not all sellers were involved in the theft. Two told officers they had bought the goods at a car boot sale.
“The theft itself took minutes. The real mystery is what happened next,” Huesser said, adding that someone either had a plan for moving the stock from the outset or worked one out very quickly.
That fits what security specialists describe across Europe. “Increasingly, we see a clear division of roles. Some are responsible for gaining access to accounts. Others look for the most attractive loads. Still others carry out the theft itself or sell the goods on,” Piotr Sobala, International Security Team Leader at the Trans.eu Group, told Trans.INFO in an interview.
Why the weeks before Christmas are riskier
More goods on the road means more targets. TAPA EMEA data show that in 2024, November and December were the two months with the highest reported losses in Europe, the Middle East and Africa: €40.2 million and €36.9 million respectively, even though December recorded far fewer incidents than the summer months.
The trend has not slowed. In the 30 days to 9 November 2026 alone, the TAPA EMEA Intelligence System recorded 559 cargo crime incidents across the region, with Germany, Italy, Sweden and Spain reporting the most. The biggest single loss was €1.76 million, from a theft from a container in Belgium. Only one in five incidents stated a value, so the real losses are much higher.
In the UK, freight crime losses reported to the National Vehicle Crime Intelligence Service reached £111.5 million (about €134 million) in 2024, up by almost two-thirds on the previous year, even though the number of offences fell, according to the Road Haulage Association. Fewer thefts, but bigger and better-planned ones.
Is your load fully insured?
The RHA has now issued a peak-season warning. It says organised criminals often target specific loads, depots and loading points, and may watch premises and monitor activity before they act. Full trailer theft, curtain slashing and fuel theft are the main risks.
The association also points to a less visible danger: insurance. Operators carrying high-value loads should check that their Goods in Transit policy covers them, including any uplifts needed for more expensive cargo. Under-insurance can leave a haulier exposed after a theft, which “can be the difference between survival and business failure”, said Geraint Davies, the RHA’s partnerships director.
What the RHA advises
For operators:
- park high-value loads in secure locations and fit pin locks on trailers,
- make sure yard CCTV is fit for purpose and check gates and fencing for weak spots,
- test whether detection measures actually work,
- vet all staff, including third-party providers such as security guards,
- store fuel and AdBlue away from vulnerable areas and keep strict records of their use,
- review systems and procedures regularly, because complacency creeps in.
For drivers:
- use secure parking and avoid lay-bys and other unsecured areas,
- do not discuss loads, customers or routes with anyone who does not need to know,
- never post information about loads or customers on social media.
Don’t let haste win
Physical security is only half of the picture. Many thefts start with a phone call or an email: a fake carrier, a hijacked account or a load offer that looks too good to be true. In the busiest weeks of the year, when dispatchers have less time for each order, that risk grows.
“In practice, haste is criminals’ biggest ally,” Sobala told Trans.INFO. His advice: check the website address and the sender of every message, and treat it as a red flag if someone suddenly asks you to log in again or tries to move the conversation off the platform.
