Incident: Strategic Cargo Theft Recovery, Load Splitting, Burned Trailer
Danny Ramon
Intelligence & Response Manager
Overhaul advises shippers of targeted products to be extremely diligent in vetting all carriers and drivers. Provided carrier and driver information should be checked against publicly available online records and official company website information. Thorough documentation should be kept that include photos from origin of the driver, the CDL, the back of the trailer with seal affixed (seal number visible), tractor and trailer identifying markings and license plates, and BOL. In addition, origin personnel should be on the lookout for red flags such as temporary placards or logos, as well as recently painted over logos, paper/missing license plates, and drivers not matching their CDL photo. Certain combinations of red flags should disqualify any offending driver, carrier, or broker from booking or departing with a load. Contextual intelligence, remote compliance monitoring, real time visibility, and an immediate escalation process with a path to effective law enforcement engagement are critical to recognizing and recovering stolen cargo.
Incident: Strategic Cargo Theft Recovery, Load Splitting, Burned Trailer
Date: 08/01/2023
Location: Southern California, Arizona, New Mexico
Last week, Overhaul enacted a recovery on a full truckload of televisions and monitors that the carrier had stolen in what appears to be an attempted strategic cargo theft.
The carrier picked up the shipment in the Greater Los Angeles area on Tuesday of last week. When the Overhaul GSOC contacted the driver on Thursday, he stated he was stopped for a blown tire in Holbrook, AZ and had photos of the newly installed tire and receipt at the ready. Signs of suspicious behavior caused the GSOC to escalate to the LE Connect team.
When the Overhaul LE Connect team reached out to the crew that performed the roadside service, it was learned that the trailer was already unhooked form the tractor when they arrived, there were 3 individuals on site and another tractor hooked up to the trailer and left while they on the side of the road in Holbrook.
Later in the journey, soon after escalations had begun, the drivers reported a spontaneous fire had broken out in the trailer and burned the cargo while in Tucumcari, NM. Photos of responding fire crew and a report number was provided.
After the fire, Overhaul noted that the cargo had been separated from the original trailer. The original trailer was rolling towards destination, while the remainder of the cargo remained in Moriarty, NM.
The LE Connect team provided the Risk Monitoring link providing live locations and all necessary details to locate the cargo to the Moriarty PD and the Navaho County Sheriff’s Office, who located a suspicious trailer with the same (out of state) carrier markings and worked tirelessly to obtain a warrant to seize the cargo and its new trailer.
Overhaul’s LE Connect Team is working with relevant Law Enforcement Agencies to determine the cause of the fire and its relationship to the attempted theft.
Overhaul’s LE Connect team would like to thank the Moriarty PD and Officer Kevin Smith as well as Navajo County Sheriff and Deputy Boston Bentley for their dedication and tenacity in recovering this shipment.
