Incidents

Road freight crime is estimated to cost the UK £250 million each year. With the global economic crisis increasing the number of criminal incidents and a growing problem of cross-border illegal immigrant stowaways, container security has never been more important. 

Given the staggering cost of freight crime in stolen goods, and the significant fines levied at truck drivers who have not adequately protected their container from stowaways, it is difficult to comprehend why just about the only type of lock available on the market (and certainly the style most widely used) is basic, primitive and easy to remove – silently and in seconds.  

A typical attack on a container involves the use of an oxy-acetylene cutting torch. The attacker simply waits for the driver to leave the cab or go to sleep. Once there is little likelihood of the attacker being disturbed, the cutting torch is used to cut through the standard locking mechanism.

Here you can see the standard lock simply cut in half. This procedure takes only minutes and is almost silent apart from the hissing of the gas which is usually disguised by passing traffic.

It is not necessary to cut through the actual door, although this has taken place on occasion. As you can see above, the door is almost undamaged apart from the damage to the paintwork.

Since there is such little evidence of the incident, the crime is often unnoticed in the dark of a truck stop; in many cases even the driver is initially unaware of the security breach. It is highly difficult for drivers to be aware of what is happening at the rear doors of the container and practically impossible to protect the container when asleep or taking a rest stop away from the cab.

Until now, that is. The Zenloc Container Alarm not only emits a visual and audible piercing tone if container doors protected by the alarm are interfered with, but it also alerts the driver through a coded message to a hand-held receiver. This means the driver does not need to be with his vehicle in order to protect it, or if he is in his vehicle, be forced to confront the danger by leaving his cab, putting himself in significant personal danger. This remote, stand-alone nature, and the fact that the alarm does not rely on the electrical systems of the vehicle it is protecting, makes the Zenloc Container Alarm unlike any freight lock or trailer alarm on the market.

This standard lock can’t indicate to the driver that it is being silently cut off in seconds, but the Zenloc Container alarm tells the driver and the world around him of any attempted security breach. The groundbreaking innovation of the award-winning Zenloc Container Alarm stands to make a real difference in the world of haulage security. The Zenloc Container Security System is always on guard.