SLOTH, DRUGS SAID DRIVING CARGO THEFT

Insurance companies underwriting cargo and tractor-trailer risks must
attack two familiar villains of the workplace -- drugs and sloth -- if they
hope to curb freight theft losses, according to two seasoned Los Angeles
Police Department investigators.

"We've had truck drivers sell loads of lobsters worth a half million for
three rocks of crack cocaine worth $150," said Detective Marc Zavala of
LAPD's Violent Crime Special Sections squad that works cargo theft cases.
"We've had drivers who are narcotics users sell both the tractor--trailer
and a load worth $500,000 for $5,000 in cash so they could buy drugs."

Drug-abusing drivers are more likely to detour and forget about their
deliveries, the lawmen say. "We get about 300 calls a month from companies,
insurance investigators and other law enforcement officials and a
percentage say they have drivers MIA (missing in action)," said his
partner, Detective Armando Romero.

"Or drivers will call their companies and say, "I'm in LA and I'm partying

down.' At that point, they're often selling off pieces of their truck --
the radio, CD player -- and then they start selling off their loads," Mr.
Romero added.

Mr. Romero and Mr. Zavala, who work stolen freight cases in a market with
the highest incidence of cargo theft in the United States -- higher than
New York-New Jersey and Miami-South Florida -- contend that transportation
vendors must beef up driver screening and insurers must get even tougher on
loss control.

"Only a small percentage of internal (company) employees are involved in
cargo theft." The big problems are driver "complacency, laziness in
securing his load and drug addiction" Mr. Zavala told The Journal of
Commerce during the National Cargo Security Council's annual conference
here last week.To combat this, Mr. Romero suggested, companies "must invest
in deeper background checks on drivers and employees, including managers."
Too often motor carriers circumvent that because they have large shipments
at the last minute with tight deadlines. "That's when they seem to grab for
any driver," Mr. Zavala added.

On one "inside job" they remembered, a manager and a driver yielded to the

temptation of a faked theft and quick sale. "We got a call from a shipping
manager who reported a load was stolen when some thieves broke into the cab
of a truck and hijacked the tractor and trailer," Mr. Zavala recalled.

"We went out to investigate and found no broken glass, no clues, no way was
this a hijack." They questioned the driver and shipping manager separately
and their stories didn't match. Eventually, the driver admitted the
conspiracy because he never got his promised $5,000 payoff from the
shipping manager.

The LAPD investigators said, based on their experience, only 20 percent of

all truck drivers in cargo theft cases are personally involved as
participants in the crime. The vast majority are victims. This contrasts
sharply with estimates from other law enforcement and insurance officials
who routinely put the figure at 50 percent or higher.

The lawmen also said Southern California, with its vast road systems, leads
the nation in hijacking, and drivers should be alert to bogus accidents
that can be setups for heists. One ploy: five to six crooks in two rented
vans tail a rig in traffic. A lone driver maneuvers in front of the
tractor, suddenly slams on his brakes and is hit from the rear. The driver
gets out of his cab and the bandit gets out yelling, "Hey, man, my car is
broken."

Then, said Mr. Zavala, "The van driver plays dumb. Has no driver's license

or picture ID, speaks no English and creates a diversion while four other
guys crack open the back of the trailer and start grabbing as fast as they
can."

Their advice to drivers who suspect they are about to be duped: "Stay in
the cab, lean on the air horn to create your own diversion and get on the
cell phone to call police. If the van driver comes up to the window and
motions the driver out, say the police have been notified of the accident
and will be here in five minutes and keep hitting the horn. Just don't bluff."

SENSIBLE STEPS TO DETER CARGO THEFT

Stopping theft of cargo must start before a truck leaves the warehouse.
John Cecchi, president of American International Marine Agency of
California, a unit of the American International Group, recommends these
strategies:

* Limit access to documents to those who "need to know."

* Limit access to warehouse/shipping areas to authorized personnel.

* Hire drivers who have three or more years of experience.

* Do deep background checks on drivers. Avoid late evening or early morning
pickups and deliveries of goods.

* Install and use "panic buttons" and two-way radios in truck cabs.

* Use escort cars and armed guards when transporting "high-value,
high-tech" cargo.

Install satellite tracking devices or "Lojack"-type retrieval systems.