WATERLOO, Ont. -- Local police are warning trucking companies to be vigilant in monitoring trucks and trailers after a rash of cargo thefts in the region.

According to the Waterloo Record, police say there's been an increase in the number of stolen truckloads from yards and terminals in North Dumfries Township and Cambridge.

Police suspect organized crime groups are to blame. Several stolen trailers were found abandoned and empty in the Greater Toronto Area.

Police have stepped up patrols in the area and several trucking companies told the paper that they increased security and extended hours during the holiday long weekend.

Cargo crime is increasing all over Canada and the U.S. as inflation drives up the value of many goods and commodities.
This week, the National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB) issued its 2010 National Cargo Theft report. It identified nearly 800 cargo thefts across the U.S. last year with an estimated loss value of $171 million – mostly from trucks.

Not only is property stolen, but in some cases lives could be at risk.

NICB President and CEO Joe Wehrle recounts how in one case a load of insulin was stolen and stored at a warehouse while the thieves made arrangements to sell it on the black market.

"There is no way to know if it was properly refrigerated during storage and unsuspecting consumers may have been at tremendous risk had they used tainted insulin."

California had the most reported thefts, followed by Texas and Florida.

Electronics were most often the target, followed by food and clothing.

As might be expected, truck stops, parking lots, warehouses and port cities have the most theft activity, says NICB.

The Bureau adds that law enforcement resources are stretched thin in many areas and can do little to stop organized criminal enterprises that "view cargo theft as a low-risk crime with the potential for high profits."

The NICB says it has agents deployed in strategic locations in the U.S. to help police investigate, respond to calls for assistance and conduct training on cargo theft.

“Cargo theft is not only a property crime that hurts the national economy, it can have a serious impact on public health and safety," says Wehrle.

The full NICB report is available here.