Uncovering the Illegal Online Source of Stolen Food

Case Location: Toronto and Montreal, Canada

A Canadian client’s well-branded food product was stolen in massive quantities. Pinkerton agents were called in to investigate, and recovered a portion of the initial heist’s haul, leading to three arrests and convictions. However, the product then began showing up in cyberspace markets. The client needed to ascertain whether these were part of the originally stolen lot.

Using its global network of resources, Pinkerton’s Cyber Surveillance agents worked to gain leads through numerous internet sources. These investigations led to sweeps of retail sites that were selling the targeted product. Pinkerton agents were able to determine a specific distributor at the center of the illegal re-selling.

Pinkerton’s work led to the seizure of additional quantities of the targeted product which had been given counterfeit labels with altered expiration dates. If these food products had not been retrieved, they may have posed a health hazard.