CASEFILE #232131089 VENDING MACHINE THEFT

LAST UPDATED: 2945-03-21_16:44SET

On 2945-03-03 we received our first report of missing BIG BENNY brand vending machines from the Port Olisar commuter hub station. Alby Mollion, the on call manager, explained that a TERRA MILLS SERVICE TECHNICIAN had come to repair the machine and informed him that it would have to be taken to an offsite center. The following week, shift supervisor Tony Losong contacted Terra Mills Service Center to inquire about the repair only to learn that the so-called service technician had not in fact been associated with the company. It was at this point that Crusader Security was contacted by the Port Olisar administrators to look into the matter. Security vids pulled from the station’s feed captured the suspect leaving with the machine in question but so far, facial match has been a dead end. It is surmised that the suspect was wearing spoofs, faux-vis, or some combination thereof. Attempts to track the suspect’s transport also proved futile as the regtags were traced back to a decommissioned hauler.

On 2945-03-05, we received a second report from CryAstro station 1267SC where their Big Benny unit was also taken under the guise of repair. Not long after, dozens of similar reports from other stations around the Crusader sector began to trickle in, stating that a false Terra Mills technician had removed their Big Benny machines. Those separate reports were vetted and indexed under this main casefile once the connection was confirmed.

In the meanwhile, we have been working with Terra Mills to issue a general warning to all Big Benny machine owners to be on the lookout for unscheduled service technicians and that they should always demand to see credentials. An image of the suspect has likewise been circulated. However, since 2945-03-12 there have been no further reports. In attempt to track down the culprit we have notified scrap yards and secondhand sellers to alert us if someone tries to offer a Big Benny unit for sale. We have also tasked Terra Mills with tracing unusual refill orders surmising that the stolen machines may eventually require more Kacho to be stocked.

**EDIT 2945-03-21 ** We did have a possible hit on the VSS we put out on the suspect’s transport, but reached a dead end after we lost the trail near Grim HEX. We currently don’t have the resources to investigate directly, but I have put in a request for a CI to follow up.