Reduce Aviation Freight Theft (RAFT) project
The AFP’s RAFT project aims to reduce freight theft by investigating the theft or suspicious movement of aviation freight from dispatch depot to receiving depot. All forms of air freight are covered by the project.
RAFT is an AFP project which works closely with Customs and the freight industry. Investigations are conducted by the AFP’s joint airport investigations teams in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth and Adelaide.
The project takes a national approach to overcome traditional problems associated with reporting and investigating air freight theft. This reduces the problem of incomplete investigations due to jurisdictional boundaries or uncertainty about where the theft occurred.
The inter-agency set-up for the AFP’s joint airport investigation teams supports this project by providing a nationally coordinated, streamlined approach to air freight theft. The AFP has officers in each joint investigation team dedicated to investigating air freight theft around Australia.
Since the RAFT project began in trial form in July 2007 the AFP has received 170 reports. The total value of lost freight reported to date is $366,981.51. Two significant arrests have been made and there are six active investigations underway.
Timely reporting of loss is crucial to the AFP’s ability to achieve positive results. Air freight companies should report freight loss directly to the AFP by calling 131 AFP (237), or using the Reduce Aviation Freight Theft online report form.
Joint Airport Investigations Teams
JAITs investigate serious and organised crime in the aviation sector, focusing on the 11 major airports.
These teams are based at Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth international airports and can be deployed to any of the major airports.
JAITs are part of the AFP’s unified policing presence at airports and include representatives from the AFP, Customs and State and Territory police.
Unified policing presence
The AFP developed a unified policing model in response to key recommendations in the 2005 Wheeler Review into airport security and policing in Australia. The model enables a comprehensive and coordinated approach to addressing criminality and terrorist threats in the aviation sector and has been implemented at 11 major Australian airports.
The 11 airports are located in Adelaide, Alice Springs, Brisbane, Cairns, Canberra, Darwin, Gold Coast, Hobart, Melbourne, Perth and Sydney.