– When the payoff is high and the chance of getting caught is so low when the police don’t have enough scrutiny, then we’ll likely only see an increase in the problem in the future, says Geir A. Mo.
He is the managing director of the NLF and says their members have recently suffered a series of major thefts.
A series of serious thefts
A number of trucks parked in cities in Eastern Norway have recently been subject to major thefts. In Sandefjord, Tønsberg, Skien, Mysen, Larvik and Kongsberg, the brazen thieves have struck. At the latter location, a total of 13 trucks were dismantled so badly that they were left unusable.
In a Press release NLF writes about Dag Arne Halvorsen, who manages Dag Arne Halvorsen’s transport. Last week, the thieves were caught.
– Even before I arrived in the car, I had received a text message from an acquaintance wondering if I had been and turned on the car. I then realized something was wrong before I arrived, Halvorsen says.
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A wave of nasty thefts across Eastern Norway: – They must have been professionals
– I don’t feel safe anymore
But the sight that met him surprised. Halvorsen believes what he saw indicates that there were professional burglars on the move.
– They really need to know what they’re doing, because there are big, heavy parts on a cement truck. Everything was done professionally. To open the front as they had, they had to open the central lock. The entire bonnet and the step were also unscrewed, says the truck owner.
Halvorsen goes on to say that she no longer feels safe and that the situation is extremely frustrating.
– We try to park cars as best we can near walls and inside guarded barriers, but thieves don’t seem to care. Better exit controls need to be put in place now so that thieves can be stopped, she says.
Customs: – Cooperates well with the police
Kari Klævold is Deputy Head of Customs Borders Division. She says they cooperate well with the police and the flow of information is good.
It won’t answer to the NLF if they know of an increase in the number of car thefts in Norway – and if this is something they are now focusing on.
– According to the border cooperation agreements that Norway has with Finland and Sweden, the main rule is that Finland and Sweden are responsible for controlling the transport to these countries, while Norway is responsible for controlling the traffic to Norway. We still carry out checks on transport leaving the country, and this can be done in cooperation with the police, says Klævold.
The police: – Often comes in waves
– Such thefts often come in waves. There are large values readily available and it is known that there are often orders that go further out of the country, says the head of the Joint Prevention Unit in the South-Eastern Police District, Nina Karstensen Bjørlo a Nettavisen.
He says owners of trucks and other valuable transportation vehicles can take a number of steps.
– It’s about making accessibility difficult. Lock down the vehicles in the areas and secure them as best you can. One measure could be video surveillance, says Bjørlo.
