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New look at the technology helping track cargo theft
FOX Chicago takes a closer look at how stolen merchandise moves through criminal networks and how investigators work to identify the people buying and profiting from stolen goods.
CHICAGO - Catching someone breaking into a freight container is one step. Identifying who buys the stolen merchandise — and who ultimately profits — can require following a network across stores, state lines and international borders.
How digital clues help
What they're saying:
In a follow-up to FOX Chicago's reporting on cargo theft and suspected resale operations, a representative of retail crime intelligence company Auror explained how information collected by retailers can help investigators connect cases.
"We’ve seen offenders that can have 20, 30, 40, 50, 60 events across the country," said Raul Aguilar, Auror's head of law enforcement partnerships for North America.
Aguilar said intelligence from the platform is shared with Cook County Sheriff's Commander Michael Ware and other investigators working to identify suspected repeat offenders.
Connecting reports across stores
What we know:
Auror provides software that participating retailers use to document thefts and other incidents after they happen. Reports can include what was stolen, descriptions of the people involved, potential vehicles and whether someone used a weapon.
The platform's analytics help identify possible connections across retailers, giving investigators a way to examine incidents that might otherwise remain in separate reports.
Aguilar said delays in sharing information can make it harder for law enforcement agencies to recognize those connections.
"And unfortunately, there’s silos in law enforcement and that information does not pass in an expeditious manner," he said.
The software can provide investigative leads. Establishing whether incidents are connected and proving criminal conduct still requires police work and evidence.
Retailer's tip sparks separate investigation
The backstory:
A previous report showed how information from a retailer helped launch a separate investigation into Future Fashion on West 47th Street in Chicago's Brighton Park neighborhood.
Chicago freight train burglary: About 20 people believed involved, officials say
A freight train was burglarized Tuesday in Chicago's Little Village neighborhood, disrupting freight and commuter rail service, authorities said.
"Victoria’s Secret reached out to me and said, we see a lot of our products that’s inside of the store that haven’t even been released yet," an investigator told FOX Chicago.
Investigators said an undercover officer sold items represented as stolen to the business, then another officer returned to buy them back.
FOX Chicago accompanied investigators during the search, where retail representatives helped examine merchandise. Investigators said stolen goods could be mixed with legitimate purchases, requiring them to trace how individual items reached the store.
The owner said he had records from people who sold him merchandise.
The owner and an employee were charged with theft of more than $10,000 and continuing a financial crime enterprise. Both are presumed innocent.
The interviews provided for this report do not establish that Auror was used to develop the Future Fashion case.
Why criminals target cargo
Big picture view:
Aguilar, who previously led a national initiative for Homeland Security Investigations, said cargo theft can involve both opportunistic break-ins and coordinated efforts to target particular shipments.
Some thieves take whatever they find inside a container. Others, he said, use cyber-enabled fraud or insider information to track valuable loads.
The merchandise can also travel overseas, generating money for broader criminal networks.
"Hundreds of thousands of dollars of iPhones are being stolen across the country and then shipped overseas, which then fuels that transnational criminal network into other potential drug, weapon violations, etc., etc.," Aguilar said.
His comments describe broader criminal activity and do not establish those connections in the Future Fashion case.
Who controls the information?
Dig deeper:
Asked what safeguards protect innocent people from being wrongly identified, Aguilar emphasized the company's role as a software provider.
"So we are not a camera company. We’re a software company," he said.
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Following the money: Inside Cook County crackdown on cargo theft, stolen goods
A theft doesn’t end when stolen merchandise leaves a shipping container. For Cook County sheriff’s investigators, the next question is who will buy it — and who will profit.
Aguilar said retailers document information after a theft, threatening behavior or assault. He also said retailers own their data and decide whether to share it with law enforcement.
Those records can help investigators look beyond a single theft to examine who took the merchandise, who bought it and where the money went.
As one sheriff's official said during the original reporting: "You know, the ones that we’re getting now have tentacles everywhere."
The Source: The information in this report came from FOX Chicago's reporting, interviews with Auror representative Raul Aguilar and Cook County sheriff's investigators.