The PlayStation 5 is still in high demand. The demand is so strong that professional criminal gangs are engaging in particularly daring robberies. They are now stealing PlayStation 5 consoles and other valuable cargo even from moving trucks!
What happened? A report from the English newspaper The Times refers to already 27 curious robberies on moving trucks that have occurred in the UK so far in 2020. The thieves have targeted high-value cargo, including smartphones, cigarettes, and recently more frequently PlayStation 5 consoles. According to the authorities, cargo theft in the UK has already caused damage amounting to 66 million pounds.
The thieves are particularly bold and reckless in their approach, and their methods resemble stunts from movies like The Fast and the Furious.
Professional criminal gangs pull off heists like in action movies
This is how the thieves operate: To get to their coveted loot, the thieves do not only steal the PS5 directly from customers or from warehouses, but also right from the moving truck.
They use a tactic known as “The Rollover”. At least three vehicles and a well-coordinated crew are required:
- A car positions itself in front of the truck to control its speed.
- Another vehicle drives parallel to the truck, preventing it from overtaking the car in front.
- The last vehicle then drives as close as possible to the truck from behind.
From the last vehicle, the most skillful of the criminals climbs out of the (roof) window, secures himself with a rope, and then balances forward to the cargo trailer.
He then breaks into it and can throw the most valuable boxes from the cargo back into the car. The maneuver is extremely risky, as a sudden change in speed or the thief slipping can lead to severe or even fatal injuries.
This is why the thieves know where the fat loot is located: Since the previously known robberies specifically targeted valuable items like PS5 consoles, the police assume that the thieves had help from accomplices within the relevant freight companies. Thus, the thieves could quickly identify and steal the most valuable boxes.
As such bold robberies tend to increase during the Christmas season, the authorities have urgently advised freight company operators to revise their security measures and to continually provide their drivers with new routes to make it harder for thieves to catch the trucks on the way.
Those who do not have a PlayStation 5 and do not want to steal one may still be able to get one. The retailers MediaMarkt and Saturn occasionally have them in stock. Find out here on MeinMMO, where you can currently get a PS5 and what the current availability status is.
