Around 7 trucks are stolen every day in Saudi Arabia

DAMMAM: Bandar Al-Jabri, president of the national committee of transport in the Council of Saudi Chambers, said that around seven trucks are stolen every day in Saudi Arabia for the cargo being carried by them. This occurs despite a monitoring system via satellite installed in the trucks, said an online newspaper.
Al-Jabri said that some of the drivers know where the system connected with the satellite is placed on the trucks. It is thus important that the location of these systems be kept secret to guard against the bad intentions of some of the drivers who either damage them or break them to delink its connection with the monitoring center of the transport company and steal whatever was being transported in these trucks.
Some of the stolen items are costlier than the price of the truck. Around 70 percent of the stolen trucks were found intact, while parts of 30 percent of trucks are also stolen, he said.
Abdul Latheef Al-Hameen, member of the road transport committee in the chamber of Eastern region, said that the theft of the trucks could not be stopped dispite taking fingerprints of the drivers and connecting the truck with the satellite.
The entire system is questionable due to its not being efficient. Similarly the punishment for the runaway drivers are not enough as in most of the cases it is only just for a few months before their eventual deportation.
Ahmad Al-Muqbil, member of the national committee for transport, said the process of stealing has become serious for some transport companies forcing them to opt out of the sector. Around 60 percent of the carriers are not operating due to the non-availability of foreign or Saudi drivers. He said that one of the companies recently lost SR2 million when cables loaded in a truck was stolen. The truck was found intact in a remote area ten days after it went missing.