{"id":616224,"date":"2026-04-19T02:17:22","date_gmt":"2026-04-19T02:17:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/616224\/"},"modified":"2026-04-19T02:17:22","modified_gmt":"2026-04-19T02:17:22","slug":"thousands-of-dollars-worth-of-belongings-stolen-from-cars-shipped-across-australia-but-no-one-held-responsible","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/616224\/","title":{"rendered":"Thousands of dollars worth of belongings stolen from cars shipped across Australia, but no-one held responsible"},"content":{"rendered":"

When newly-engaged couple Elihu and Amanda Del Valle shipped their car from Melbourne to Perth to start their new life, they paid extra to pack some things in the boot.\u00a0<\/p>\n

But they say somewhere along the journey, thousands of dollars worth of their possessions \u2014 including electronics, jewellery and sports equipment \u2014 was stolen.\u00a0<\/p>\n

To their shock, they say police were unable to investigate because it was unclear where the theft happened \u2014 on a trip spanning 3,300 kilometres across multiple states.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Elihu and Amanda Del Valle say irreplaceable items were stolen.\u00a0 (ABC News: Lily Kristanto)<\/p>\n

“The amount that was taken from my car was roughly around $5,000 [worth],” Elihu said.<\/p>\n

“Some items you can’t put a price tag on \u2026 things like the hard drive, where there were a lot of personal photos \u2026 I’m never getting those photos back.”Justice loophole<\/p>\n

When the couple reached out to police in both WA and Victoria to report the theft, Elihu said he encountered a “loophole” in the justice system.<\/p>\n

“[Police said] the report needs to be filed where it happened \u2026 I don’t know if it happened in WA or in Melbourne,” he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Elihu Del Valle says it is not clear which jurisdiction the theft occurred in.\u00a0 (ABC News: Lily Kristanto)<\/p>\n

According to the couple, WA police told them to report the crime in Melbourne, which they did, only to be redirected back west.<\/p>\n

Amanda said the companies and police were just “handballing [them] from one person to the next”.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Company maze<\/p>\n

The couple organised to ship their car through broker National Car Movers, which partners with transport company Dazmac.<\/p>\n

Dazmac then transports the cars using several international shipping companies.<\/p>\n

\"Fremantle<\/p>\n

The couple’s car arrived at Fremantle Port.\u00a0 (ABC News: Nicholas Martyr)<\/p>\n

Customers’ cars must be unlocked at the ports and on the ships so port workers, not those employed by Dazmac, can move the cars on and off the ships.<\/p>\n

Dazmac tells customers not to put valuable items inside their car \u2014 and the couple said they signed a declaration relieving Dazmac of responsibility for any stolen goods.<\/p>\n

The ABC has spoken to several people who are missing belongings in similar circumstances, with no course of action.<\/p>\n

When Jourdan Sungkar opened his boot after shipping his car from Melbourne to Perth in 2023, he was “gutted”.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Jourdan Sungkar says he felt “violated” when his belongings disappeared.\u00a0 (ABC News: Lily Kristanto\u00a0)<\/p>\n

“It was totally rummaged through. It was clearly tampered with. Not only that, half of the things were missing,” he said.<\/p>\n

“They looked through every single thing. So it clearly looked like they had a lot of time to assess what was in there and take what they wanted.”<\/p>\n

\"an<\/p>\n

The boot of Jourdan Sungkar’s car after it arrived in Perth.\u00a0 (ABC News: Lily Kristanto\u00a0)<\/p>\n

Jourdan reached out to Water Police, as well as WA and Victorian police, to no avail.<\/p>\n

“They basically didn’t give much help because they’re unsure of where it happened,” he said.<\/p>\n

\"Jourdan<\/p>\n

Jourdan Sungkar says law enforcement agencies could not help him. (ABC News: Lily Kristanto)<\/p>\n

When the ABC inquired, WA Police said the investigation was complicated by the fact it is unknown in which jurisdiction the offence occurred.<\/p>\n

“Anyone who has been a victim of this type of crime should report the matter to police as soon as possible,” police said in a statement.<\/p>\n

Grey area<\/p>\n

Vinh Thai, the founder of the Australian Maritime Logistics Research Network, said while the international shipping industry was heavily regulated, it was “a grey area” while the cargo was on land.<\/p>\n

Mr Thai said because there were multiple parties involved in the supply chain, the process was complicated \u2014 the items could have been stolen at the depots, at the ports or on the ships.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Vinh Thai says there are multiple places for possible thefts to occur while the cargo is on land.\u00a0 (Supplied)<\/p>\n

“The possibility is that someone, somehow, can take advantage of the loopholes in the systems,” he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Mr Thai said there needed to be clearer policies or government regulation to help avoid these thefts.<\/p>\n

‘No-one wants to take responsibility’<\/p>\n

In response to complaints, Dazmac said it had no control over vehicles while they were unlocked at the ports and on ships and could not take responsibility for items going missing.<\/p>\n

Managing director Daryl McIntyre said the company’s depots were safe and had a range of security measures.<\/p>\n

He said Dazmac had been unable to find an insurer willing to cover personal effects and that thefts had impacted the shipping industry as a whole.<\/p>\n

Mr McIntyre said while the rate of theft was low compared to the number of cars they transported, everyone who had belongings stolen left a bad review.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“This is a big frustration for us to build a brand, then issues outside our control cause poor reviews,” he said.<\/p>\n

Mr McIntyre said he had taken his concerns to WA and federal police, Australian Border Force and the WA ports minister’s office.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Daryl McIntyre says Dazmac has a range of security measures in place.\u00a0 (Supplied\u00a0)<\/p>\n

“We need one of them to take action,” he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“We’d like some clarity around which agency is in charge of these sorts of crimes so that we can have a process to report and they can be followed through.<\/p>\n

“It’s not a hard fix. It’s just that no-one wants to take responsibility.”<\/p>\n

Mr McIntyre believed the thefts were occurring in WA, claiming many of the issues were linked to Fremantle.<\/p>\n

\"Ships<\/p>\n

Fremantle Ports says security is a priority.\u00a0 (ABC News: Andrew O’Connor)<\/p>\n

He said as a major port in Australia, Fremantle needed a dedicated terminal operator to manage the safe passage of cargo, as well as stronger site security.<\/p>\n

“The site is quite old, so the perimeter security there is just \u2026 substandard compared to the east coast,” he said.<\/p>\n

Port defends security<\/p>\n

Fremantle Ports said a wide range of security measures were in place to maintain safety and security across the precinct, in line with its legislative requirements.<\/p>\n

That included fencing, patrols, CCTV, controlled entry points and floodlights.<\/p>\n

\"An<\/p>\n

Some are calling for more action to be taken to ensure the safe passage of cargo at Fremantle Port. (ABC News: David Weber)<\/p>\n

\u201cFremantle Ports operates across an extensive area of approximately 380 kilometres,” a port spokesperson said in a statement.<\/p>\n

“Like any large operational business, from time to time we are subject to unlawful incidents.<\/p>\n

“Whenever Fremantle Ports becomes aware of such matters, they are reported directly to WA Police for investigation.<\/p>\n

\"Ships<\/p>\n

Fremantle Ports says personal belongings within vehicles are managed by shipping lines and freight companies. (ABC News: Andrew O’Connor)<\/p>\n

“The handling of vehicles and any personal belongings within them is managed by the shipping lines and freight companies engaged by customers.<\/p>\n

“Fremantle Ports\u2019 role is as a facility and terminal operator, ensuring safe and efficient operations within the port precinct itself.”<\/p>\n

Since the thefts, National Car Movers no longer allows people to put items in the boot of their cars, while Dazmac still allows it for no extra charge.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Some companies no longer permit items to be transported in the boot.\u00a0 (ABC News: Lily Kristanto)<\/p>\n

Jourdan said police should be investigating the thefts.<\/p>\n

“Everyday people don’t have the luxury to afford to lose things,” he said.<\/p>\n

Editor\u2019s note: The journalist investigated this story after having been a victim of car shipping theft herself. She filed an incident report with police but was told there was not much that could be done, and the case was closed.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"When newly-engaged couple Elihu and Amanda Del Valle shipped their car from Melbourne to Perth to start their…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":616225,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[299051,79974,299050,299052,43,299053,299049,44,46,1158,205792,64234,58040,41,39,42,40,25962,7977],"class_list":["post-616224","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-headlines","tag-car-shipping-theft","tag-cargo","tag-dazmac","tag-fremantle-port","tag-headlines","tag-maritime-logistics-research-network","tag-national-car-movers","tag-news","tag-perth","tag-police","tag-ship","tag-shipping","tag-theft","tag-top-news","tag-top-stories","tag-topnews","tag-topstories","tag-wa","tag-wa-police"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/616224","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=616224"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/616224\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/616225"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=616224"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=616224"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=616224"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}