GPS jammers recovered from cargo thieves, according to FreightWatch

A supply chain security firm said law enforcement has recovered four such devices in the past 14 months.

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) recently recovered GPS jamming technology after executing a search warrant for a suspected cargo theft - the fourth such jamming device confiscated in the past 14 months in the Southeast from the United States, noted supply chain security firm FreightWatch International (FWI).

The company added that a well-known group of Cuban cargo thieves operating along the eastern seaboard are using GPS jammer to derail efforts to track and trace their burglaries:

In the July 2014 incident, evidence suggests that these thieves attempted to deploy two separate jamming devices to interrupt communication from possible tracking devices hidden on a tractor-trailer carrying stolen pharmaceuticals at a truck stop. in Cartersville, Georgia. This jamming effort proved unsuccessful and law enforcement, led by GBI, located the cargo and recovered the cargo intact. In August 2014, a cargo thief stole a shipment of copper also in Cartersville, Georgia using a similar modus operandi (M.O) by deploying jamming equipment which reduced the effectiveness of tracking efforts and also harmed law enforcement communications equipment. Despite this electronic interference, authorities located the stolen cargo several miles later that day.
The FWI noted that investigations conducted by the GBI with the cooperation of the Miami-Dade County Cargo Theft Task Force thus far have resulted in four Cuban cargo thieves being charged and extradited from Miami, in Florida, and five other states are also awaiting extradition.

The firm pointed out that while the use of jamming technology remains rare in the United States, this recent recovery of a jamming device from known cargo criminals is noteworthy because it creates the potential for impede the process of recovering stolen cargo when countermeasures are not in place.

FWI added that outside the United States, jamming technology has been used by cargo thieves for some time, although there are now effective countermeasures to mitigate the risk of jamming.