Cargo theft

by Jimmy
(Kingman,Az)

As most of you know, I live in Kingman, Az. Someone asked about cargo theft recently and how common it was in this industry. Yesterday on the news, I heard of a truck stolen with a high dollar load right here in Kingman at the Loves Truck Stop. This happened 1/29/09 while the driver was in the store. He had a load of cell phones. I'm attempting to find out additional info, but I can tell you that Loves in Kingman is a one way in/one way out setup. Whoever took the truck had to have been tailing the driver and needed at least 2 guys to pull this off.

There is no warehousing in this area for this type of merchandise. I'm sure this load originated in Los Angeles harbor area and was followed until the bad guys got the opportunity to strike. Very gutsy because you can only go east or west on I 40. And then south on U.S. 93 or north on U.S. 93. A quick phone call to 911 would have enabled the cops to set up rolling roadblocks and catch them. Believe me, they would much rather get this bust than another night of boring speeders.

Just a word of caution here. I would be willing to bet that if the driver was aware and observant, he would have noticed the same vehicle always behind him and could have notified the cops of a potential problem. If the thieves were desperate, they could have taken him down somewhere between Barstow and Needles. Maybe he didn't stop or maybe if he had of, He'd be dead and laying on the side of the highway.

I blogged on this before. Cargo theft IS big business, billions yearly. Do not ever tell anyone what you are hauling, in person or over the c/b. Not even to another driver of the same company. High value loads are vulnerable, meat loads the same, beer loads, clothing, any electronics, cigarettes. I could go on and on. You get the message. Jimmy