It was a cool early summer day, windy like a tourist would expect in Chicago, when the tip came through – a known cartel from South Florida with a history of cargo theft had rolled into town. Our shipper’s internal security team received the tip and confirmed it with a local hotel partner, but had it not been for a high value load of cell phone equipment moving the next day, the tip might have been dismissed or overlooked.
When the driver – let’s call him Mike – arrived at the Chicago facility he was asked by the guard for his cell phone number so they could notify him which dock to use, but inside the compound the driver was flagged and pointed to the correct dock. Mike was loaded and the trailer sealed before taking off for Indianapolis.
An hour and a half down the road in Jasper County, Indiana, Mike got a call on his cell phone.
“Mike, this is the shipper. We think we may have loaded your trailer with the wrong freight. We need you to pull over at the truck stop up the road.”
What happened next was a blur: Mike called us and alerted us of the situation. But while we were still on the phone with Mike, the shipper’s internal security team called us and said the truck was being followed. The team had suspected the trailer to be a target for the cartel and decided to keep an eye on it en route to Indianapolis.
When we told the security team about the phone call Mike received telling him to stop, they were ecstatic. They asked if Mike was comfortable playing a role in a sting operation (I think that’s the role of ‘bait’) and after a bit of persuasion and the promise of ample undercover police presence at the truck stop, Mike agreed to help catch the bad guys.
I can’t imagine pulling into the truck stop knowing cargo thieves are about to jump your equipment and maybe you. Like he was told, Mike parked the truck, took the keys, and walked directly into the restaurant. Before he even made it in, the cartel had swarmed his vehicle and smashed his window. That was all the police needed to close in and apprehend the perpetrators.
Thankfully the trailer wasn’t touched and the seal wasn’t broken. It was promptly picked up and driven (straight through, ha!) to our customer.
Do loads get hijacked? Yes, and increasingly so in this economic climate. Who you trust with your freight was never more important than it is now. For your high-value freight (plain ol’ boring freight too), we’ll work with you every step of the way to ensure its quick and safe delivery. And you might help catch some baddies in the process.
