Enhancing cargo theft prevention through actionable intelligence

An enterprise customer operating in Mexico was facing repeated and costly cargo thefts across both highway and rail transport. Despite previous security measures, incidents continued to escalate, affecting operational reliability and exposing significant vulnerabilities within their logistics chain. They needed a way to systematically identify where, when, and how they were being targeted.

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Through close collaboration between the customer and Overhaul’s Intelligence and Commercial teams, a comprehensive, intelligence-led security strategy
was implemented. Key elements included:

• Criminal Profiling: Overhaul’s analysts created detailed criminal profiles based on geographical and temporal patterns of theft incidents. These insights supported targeted displacement strategies that disrupted criminal routines.
• Social Media Intelligence: Investigators conducted in-depth open-source research on persons of interest such as cargo drivers, monitors, and detained suspects - uncovering hidden networks and criminal connections.
• Operational Vulnerability Mapping: The analysis revealed weak points in the customer’s logistics operations, enabling them to fortify specific protocols and optimize response times.
• Collaborative Approach: The customer worked closely with Overhaul, third-party logistics providers (3PLs), and vendors to align and implement these risk mitigation strategies.

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In just eight months, Overhaul transformed a reactive security posture into a proactive, intelligence-led defense. By leveraging data science, open-source intelligence, and operational collaboration, the customer gained critical insights into risk patterns that informed smarter decision-making. This analytical approach enabled the development of clear, focused strategies that efficiently utilized available resources, resulting in a significant reduction in theft and the creation of a more resilient supply chain - successfully staying ahead of organized criminal threats