Stolen Alcohol As a Threat to Alcohol Industry and Public Safety

Another article today highlighting how organized retail and cargo theft harms businesses, raises consumer costs, and empowers criminal enterprises. Today’s article in Bloomberg profiles the return of “railroad raids” where railcars are broken into and their contents stolen. The article further discusses the multi billion dollar theft of goods across all industries.

The Bloomberg article notes that alcohol is a top three item stolen: They principally target smaller, high-dollar items that can be sold to individuals and small businesses or through online marketplaces. Investigators say that electronics, luxury clothing and alcohol are top targets. Automobile tires are lucrative niche; thieves liquidate the stolen goods through independent dealers and repair shops.

Beer distributors and their railyards were broken into and forthunately there was a conviction late last year for the ringleader of a New York area theft. The National Beer Wholesalers Association has called for more attention on this issue and has put together some best practices for distributors and regulators to confront this growing problem.

The Center for Alcohol Policy will be discussing this issue in more depth at their conference next week in Minneapolis. A detailed agenda can be found here.