RFID Solution Takes a Bite out of the Black Market Trade

Hi-G-Tek's RFID monitoring system provides
security along Lithuania's trade routes.

By Larry Blue

For Lithuania, securing the trade routes of its eight major borders, four on the Belorussia frontier and four on the Russian Federation frontier (Kaliningrad area), was of the utmost importance. The country is uniquely situated with a piece of Russia on either side. One section of Lithuania borders the warm water boundary of Russia, encircled by the Baltic Sea, while the Russian boundary sits on the eastern border of Lithuania. These trade lanes are significant revenue producers and an important security challenge for the country. As trucks pass along these routes, and through the borders of the neighboring countries of Belarus, Latvia, Poland, and Russia, they were vulnerable to a thriving black market trade. As such, the Lithuania Customs Authority (LCA), the agency charged with correcting a system fraught with illegal and corrupt activity, needed a solution to increase security, improve tax collection capabilities, and streamline logistics to allow a smooth flow of goods through the country.

In order for the LCA to ensure that all cargo transported through the country was accounted for and taxed appropriately, the agency understood that it needed to utilize an advanced technology tool to secure the busy trade lanes, seal the cargo, and electronically store the manifest information. All of this needed to be accomplished en route, in real time, and fed into a back end monitoring system to ensure that unauthorized entry into cargo trucks did not occur. Effectively controlling this process was a difficult, important challenge for the Lithuanian government.

To seek out the best solution provider, the LCA analyzed its goals and collaborated with the EU Joint Research Center to investigate the market for multiple use electronic seals and sensors. With a strong portfolio of systems integration work throughout Lithuania, INTA (www.inta.lt) was a natural choice to head up the LCA project. In addition, INTA partnered with U.S.-based Hi-G-Tek (www.higtek.com), a leading provider of RFID sensing and control solutions for tracking high-value cargo and sensitive materials. The two companies worked together to design a complete customs solution for the LCA around Hi-G-Tek's technology platform – offering the agency an advanced, highly intelligent security system.

The Hi-G-Seal is a portable, reusable electronic data sealing and sensing device that provides physical security and real-time monitoring of assets traveling through Lithuanian trade lanes. The electronic sealing wire prevents any attempt at opening, bypassing, or tampering with the Hi-G-Seal. The system detects any such attempt, records the event, and sends an alert so that authorities can take action immediately.

New technology meets the challenge

Hi-G-Tek and INTA developed a comprehensive wireless trade lane security solution for the Lithuanian government. Throughout the world, four specific criteria emerge when dealing with cargo and border security. While the regional importance of individual items may change, essentially the issues are universal:

1. Track cargo for the purpose of levying and collecting duties
2. Prevent the illegal dumping of cargo in one country that is destined for another
3. Provide a secure monitoring system to deter black market trade
4. Streamline the customs process so that goods flow quickly through the country and do not affect the speed of commerce

For Lithuania, securing cargo against black market traffic and accurately tracking cargo for tax purposes were the primary concerns. INTA and Hi-G-Tek provided the solution, utilizing a combination of fixed readers, handheld readers, scanners, and active RFID sensors attached directly to shipment containers and trucks traveling from one border to the next on Lithuania's trade routes. In low frequency, short-range mode, cargo information is communicated to a handheld data terminal, allowing LCA officers to take action immediately if a security break should occur. Prior to the implementation of this solution, LCA officers manually inspected select shipments. This system now gives LCA the ability to provide increased security, using less manual labor, throughout its trade routes. When an unauthorized breach occurs, an alert is transmitted immediately to the appropriate authorities, eliminating the need and labor to inspect every container.

The Hi-G-Tek Outdoor Sensor Data Reader at the Nida checkpoint in Lithuania. As trucks travel past fixed readers placed on poles throughout the trade lanes, vehicle and cargo information is recorded. At border crossing checkpoints, customs officers are then able to retrieve that information from a remote server, perform multiple read/write functions and check the cargo's status – all in real time.

Why RFID?

The LCA understood that efficient and effective management of its customs process required a solution whereby cargo information could be retrieved in transit and in real time. Active RFID provided the most logical and cost effective technical option on the market. This technology arms field officers with a comprehensive view of cargo traveling through the country, while relaying relevant manifest information and eliminating the need for unnecessary manual inspections.

A truly unique aspect of the Hi-G-Seal used on the project is that it is reusable, as well as portable. As such, the device's reusability results in a significant cost-savings for the LCA over standard mechanical seals. For a period of over four years, the RFID data seals provide a wide spectrum of functionality, which was highly important to the LCA. One electronic data sealing and sensing device supplies physical security as well as automatic manifest-based processing and real-time monitoring of assets using RFID wireless technology. The seal can store electronic manifest information, including vehicle ID, container and invoice numbers, cargo descriptions, quantities, and destinations.

Additionally, the LCA chose an RFID solution because the electronic seals made it unnecessary for officials to inspect each truck manually during transit. Outdoor readers installed on border checkpoints automatically read all data transmitted from the seal as the trucks enter border-crossing areas. In real time, customs officers can view manifest and alert information on a handheld computer and take action only on those vehicles exhibiting unusual activity.

For the LCA, the technical benefits of using an active RFID solution were numerous:

• Wireless RFID high frequency, long-range and low frequency, short-range mode with full two-way read/write data communication capabilities at a distance of 100+ meters
• A sophisticated programmable chip manager allows faultless low power uninterrupted operation of all device functions
• Internal memory capabilities for electronic cargo data, replacing paper manifests
• Multi-platform integration capacity: INTA's application software was used on this project, which consists of an Oracle database and end user interface
• System durability: Hi-G-Tek readers can reliably execute commands, even in severe environments

A workable solution with real results

The LCA needed an easily implementable and user-friendly system. Hi-G-Tek and INTA worked together to design a simple, yet comprehensive system solution to address all of LCA's needs. Training for customs officers took only 10 days. During this period, INTA instructors trained 100 officers on how to use the data seals, how to operate the readers, and how to seal various types of cargo trucks. Secondly, the officers were taught how to use the data seals system software. Customs officers effortlessly grasped the intuitively designed software program and seamlessly integrated it into daily operations.

In terms of physical procedures, an RFID cable seal is attached to cargo trucks as they enter Lithuania. Electronic manifest information is then stored in the seal via an internal memory chip. As trucks travel past fixed readers placed on poles throughout the trade lanes, vehicle and cargo information is recorded. At border crossing checkpoints, customs officers are then able to retrieve that information from a remote server, perform multiple read/write functions and check the cargo's status—all in real time. This ability has significantly increased cargo processing speeds, meaning that companies utilizing the trade lane benefit from a rapid time to revenue and more trips per month per truck. Products no longer unnecessarily sit in warehouses for long periods since the electronic manifest can be reconciled immediately, reducing labor time and cost.

The Hi-G-Tek Indoor Data Reader, at the Lavoriskes checkpoint in Lithuania, is a component of Hi-G-Tek's wireless monitoring system. The Data Reader can write and retrieve information to the sensors as well as log information from the sensors. Each Data Reader can communicate with numerous sensors simultaneously, verifying their presence and status. The Data Reader can communicate with sensors at distances up to 328 feet open space (100 meters), including in-transit applications at speeds of up to 56 mph (90 km/h).

Another significant benefit has been in improved customs law enforcement capabilities across the Lithuanian Republic. The country maintains added control over high-risk or dangerous goods, which are frequently transported  across the territory both to and from the Kaliningrad region of the Russian Federation. Moreover, cargo management is easily exercised over vehicles, containers or goods based on identified risk factors. The black market trade often targets transported materials for use in terrorist or criminal activities. This solution provides an effective means of monitoring these attempts, while fostering an attractive and competitive business environment.

What does the future hold?

This wireless trade lane security solution is the first implementation in a European Union (EU) country. As a result, other EU countries have expressed a good deal of interest in implementing their own RFID-based cargo security systems. For wireless RFID technology, this region, as well as other regional core trade corridors, is very important to the future growth of cargo security applications. The ability to efficiently manage and secure trade lanes will eventually lead to collaborative relationships between Scandinavian and Northern European countries with the ability to share data across country lines and in a universal manner. Hi-G-Tek is seeing this same kind of potential in the Baltic states and throughout Africa. These regions will gain the ability to develop a data-sharing model that is useful, accurate and enabled by Hi-G-Tek.

Larry Blue is the CEO of Hi-G-Tek. Prior to joining Hi-G-Tek, Blue served as the Vice President and General Manager of the RFID Tag Sector of Symbol Technologies. Visit Hi-G-Tek at www.higtek.com.