Gangs are boarding lorries at speed to steal PS5s

Gangs are attacking lorries on the road to steal PS5s, a new report says.

Over the weekend The Times (paywall) reported that deliveries of PlayStations, TVs, perfumes, mobile phones and cigarettes have been targeted in recent months with a technique known as “the rollover” (roughly, “the approach”).

The Times reports that “the rollover” has been used at least 27 times this year since September, and that the number has risen in recent weeks as gangs try to profit from deliveries of goods ahead of Christmas. The police have apparently warned haulage companies about the practice.

The report talks about a serial criminal who said gangs were targeting goods in transit because of increased security in the supply chain. According to the account, several attacks targeted luxury goods sold by department stores and belonging to technology companies.

The Times quotes a former security manager at the Road Haulage Association, who says gangs were getting inside information. “Someone must know when and where that vehicle is and it cannot be just a random attack,” he is quoted as saying, “Someone sold information.”

The “rollover” technique has been used by gangs to attack lorries for years. In 2012, Romanian police released a startling video showing an attempt to rob a lorry while it was moving on the highway, in the dark.