On 1 September 2025, the Catania Prosecutor’s Office closed an investigation into a string of thefts from semi-trailers parked in the port’s controlled-access zone, charging three haulage drivers with aggravated theft in conspiracy. According to the Border Police, who led the inquiry, the three men – two repeat offenders aged 34 and 41 and a 64-year-old with no criminal record – exploited their work positions to plunder the trailers. The two younger suspects also face charges of handling stolen goods: police officers found merchandise in their truck cabs ready to be sold on the black market.
Investigators reconstructed a clear and well-rehearsed method. One of the three would remain in the truck to keep watch, while the other two broke into the semi-trailers and removed goods. These were then loaded onto the company’s tractor units to be moved elsewhere. The stolen items were mainly consumer goods that could be resold quickly, such as food products, detergents, deodorants and small household appliances, with an estimated total value of several thousand euros.
The inquiry began after a series of thefts were reported from semi-trailers carrying groupage cargo. The fact that the thefts occurred in restricted-access areas immediately cast suspicion on authorised personnel. The breakthrough came from cross-checking images from the port’s surveillance system with footage from entry and exit gates, combined with on-the-ground observation. It was during these operations that officers caught the three men red-handed. During tailing operations, investigators also found part of the stolen goods hidden in the cabs of the tractor units.
For years, truck drivers have reported thefts from semi-trailers, or of the trailers themselves, parked at the port of Catania. In 2021, Fai Sicilia raised the alarm on the issue. In November 2014, partly in response to such concerns, prosecutors dismantled a gang during Operation Waterfront that had been stealing entire trailers of foodstuffs since at least March of the previous year, with a total value of €800,000. Eighteen people were arrested at the end of that investigation. That group would source tractor units and attach them to semi-trailers freshly unloaded from ferries, taking advantage of moments when dockworkers were busy moving other units.
In May 2024, six further arrests were made in connection with another gang that targeted semi-trailers carrying mainly food, detergents, deodorants and small appliances. In that case, the thieves used stolen cars fitted with false number plates to carry out reconnaissance, aiming to deceive surveillance cameras in controlled-access areas. The inquiry also uncovered the complicity of port workers in the fishing sector.
Over time, the Port Authority has introduced and strengthened security measures in the parking areas for semi-trailers, including 24-hour video surveillance, automated access control with number plate recognition, anti-intrusion systems, under-vehicle inspection and metal detectors. To regulate access, the Authority requires criminal record checks for all dockworkers, specific authorisations for different categories of operators, mandatory identification at entry points and the recording of all gate calls for at least five years. The system stores images for 72 hours, a period that can be extended if requested by judicial or police authorities.
