To catch a thief - An organised operation involving police teams and Axis technology delivers justice for Sweden’s postal service
Following high-value thefts by organised gangs, PostNord employs Axis camera and radar technology to catch criminals in the act.
Fighting a difficult threat
PostNord Group AB was formed following a merger of the Swedish and Danish national post operators in 2009. Its Swedish operation employs over 18,000 workers across 400 sites, and the company secures its locations using Axis technology, sourced through Axis Communications partner Avarn Security.
Helsingborg’s ferry terminal links PostNord’s combined Danish and Swedish operations, making the company’s Helsingborg depot one of its most critical logistics terminals. It sits to the east of the city on Mineralgatan, also home to several other logistics operators and, for a time, a lucrative target for high-profile thefts.
Following a heist in 2022, PostNord Sweden approached Avarn to make a crucial upgrade, one which helped the postal giant join forces with Swedish police in an operation designed to bring the criminals to justice – and capture crucial video evidence at the same time.
Axis cameras are just so strong. PostNord is very pleased with the quality of their footage, and their ability to survive our viking conditions – our depots in the north of Sweden recently suffered a -49C winter, and we haven’t had any problems with Axis hardware. That’s incredible.
Spotting a pattern of activity
Alexis Larsson, Head of Security at PostNord Sweden, sets the scene: “Our usual procedures would not allow a trailer that was full to be left on site without being unloaded, but in the summer of 2022 a driver was forced to leave a load on our premises after traffic caused a missed ferry crossing,” he explains. “It contained bikes worth around €250,000. Criminals breached our fence, gained access to our depot, and drove away with the entire trailer.”
Analysis of evidence captured from Axis cameras on site showed that the thieves had cut through a fence to enter PostNord’s terminal, were slashing the canopies of soft-sided trailers to look for valuable goods inside, and had tampered with the site’s single entry and exit gate to prevent it from fully closing. Once PostNord’s security guard had left, the thieves entered with a 6x4 truck, hooked up to the trailer, and drove away.
“In the autumn, a further theft occurred. If something happens once, you can try to take preventative measures – but if it happens twice, that shows a pattern,” remarks Larsson. “The camera evidence was alarming – and it led to us discovering that these were not isolated incidents. Our subsequent investigation revealed that PostNord was far from the only target. In fact, Mineralgatan was home to the most reported transport crimes in the whole of Sweden. We planned to do something about it.”
Putting plans into place
PostNord’s first move was to upgrade the surveillance facilities of its Helsingborg depot. Through Avarn Security, it arranged for the addition of the AXIS D2110-VE Security Radar to its existing network of Axis cameras. The Security Radar’s 180-degree radar scanning would then detect anyone walking on its terminal grounds outside of production times and link to PostNord’s Axis PTZ cameras, training them automatically on detected targets to collect evidence of their identity. Using AXIS Companion, its cameras and radar units could be administered and monitored remotely.
After a third intrusion – “We had left no goods on site,” says Larsson, “but we now knew they would come back” – PostNord put more direct countermeasures in place. Working in conjunction with the police, PostNord staff arranged, as Larsson puts it, “some candy to steal”, leaving a bait trailer loaded with goods in its yard. A security operative monitoring the cameras on site placed the alarm elements of its surveillance system into service mode to prevent any disruption to proceedings, and upon shutdown of its operations one Saturday, PostNord waited for the criminals to strike.
The importance of good evidence
Alexis Larsson makes clear the significance of Axis camera technology to what happened next. “We have clear footage of everything, from the criminals investigating potential targets to their breaching the main gate with cutting tools when they discovered our trailer. AXIS Companion offered us a live view of proceedings, and AXIS Object Analytics kept our cameras pointing in the right direction. All of this was crucial to our ability to keep police in the loop, as they were waiting several kilometres away to avoid attracting attention.”
Helsingborg Police teams, stopping the truck shortly after it left the PostNord depot, were able to capture a man assumed to be the ringleader of the gang, with PostNord’s recordings acting as crucial evidence in his prosecution. “The police were delighted,” says Larsson, “and the results were immediate – Mineralgatan was once the centre of Swedish transport crime, and there have been no crimes reported there since, on PostNord’s site or elsewhere.”
If we have a challenge to solve, Axis always tries to find a solution.
Preparing for a secure future
PostNord intends to continue its partnership with Avarn and expand the range of Axis hardware it employs. “Securing our sites is clearly a significant challenge, and we have specific demands for each location,” explains Jonas Westerberg, Head of Security Protection at PostNord Sweden. “Every year we have a meeting with Axis and Avarn at Axis headquarters in Lund, where we talk through our experiences with our current setup, learn about the new hardware Axis has released, and talk next steps. At PostNord we don’t necessarily have the best knowledge about the products, so this kind of relationship is invaluable – and if we have a challenge to solve, Axis always tries to find a solution.”
Next on the list for PostNord is an upgrade of its central VMS, which will see the company switch from a combination of AXIS Companion and a secondary third-party solution to AXIS Camera Station. “It’s an important step, because we want to get all we can from our cameras,” says Westerberg. “AXIS Camera Station will allow us to use all possible functions, and as we begin to look at our security devices as more than simple surveillance tech, PostNord must seek out every operational synergy we can find.”
As for future criminal activity, Alexis Larsson is confident but realistic. “You cannot stop crime with a single action. Criminals change their tactics, they grow in numbers. But the way we are working, the effectiveness of our Axis camera system – it makes it extremely difficult for criminals to steal from us. The statistics suggest a positive trend. And even if PostNord is hit again, we are confident that our surveillance tech will offer us the quality of evidence that could secure a conviction.”
