Breaking News out of Wisconsin, "Ringleaders Sentenced In Massive Interstate Cargo Theft Case"

Nearly a dozen men have been arrested in a cargo theft trafficking ring that used stolen tractor-trailers to move more than $1 million in goods meant for retailers across the country to a New Jersey warehouse, where they were held until they could be sold domestically or overseas, officials said Wednesday. 

The five-month investigation, dubbed “Operation Botany Strike,” began Oct. 14, when detectives from the New Jersey State Police Interstate Theft North Unit began looking into the theft of a tractor-trailer, which contained $104,000 worth of meat, from a trucking lot in South Amboy.

Troopers found the abandoned tractor-trailer later that day at the Vince Lombardi Service Area on the New Jersey Turnpike and began following leads, which ultimately uncovered the organized theft ring. 

Over the course of the investigation, detectives found the thieves would transport stolen tractor-trailers from various jurisdictions throughout New Jersey to specific locations within a warehouse in Passaic. That facility served as the predominant location where the suspects would load and offload stolen cargo, as well as store the stolen tractor-trailers, officials said. Detectives also identified secondary locations in Little Ferry and Secaucus that served similar functions. 

Ultimately, 16 loads of stolen cargo were recovered from 10 national retailers. The seized cargo ranged from clothing and granite to home goods, landscaping equipment and food products, officials said. 

The suspects range in age from 26 to 60 and all live in northern New Jersey. They all face charges of receiving stolen property and conspiracy; one also faces a charge of fencing, which means knowingly buying stolen goods in order to later resell them for profit. 

“The suspects operating within this theft ring stole anything they could get their hands on, driving stolen tractor-trailers filled with everything from clothing, granite and food products to predestined facilities where they would store and offload the stolen cargo, eventually selling it both domestically and overseas,” Colonel Patrick Callahan, acting superintendent of the New Jersey State Police, said in a statement. “This operation alone, headed by the State Police Interstate Theft North Unit along with our partners, recovered more than $1 million of stolen cargo and dismantled a lucrative crime syndicate, which was costing victim businesses and consumers millions more.” 

Police departments in South Amboy, Lakewood, Newark, South Brunswick, Carlstadt, Kearny, Edison and Woodbridge assisted the New Jersey State Police Interstate Theft North Unit in the investigation, as did the New Jersey Division of Criminal Justice.

ORIGINAL ARTICLE

​SensiGuard reports cargo thefts were down 15 percent in 2017 from 2016, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t still a high risk of theft in the country.
Cargo theft recording firm SensiGuard is reporting a 15 percent decrease in cargo theft volume in 2017 when compared to 2016, along with a negligible increase in average loss value year-over-year.
The firm says it recorded 649 cargo thefts in the U.S. in 2017 with 146 in the first quarter, 132 in the second quarter, 177 in the third quarter and 194 in the fourth quarter. SensiGuard also reports an average loss value of $146,063, up just a tenth of a percent over 2016. Last month, cargo theft recording firm CargoNet reported a total of 741 cargo thefts in 2017.
SensiGuard notes that while 2017 continued a downward trend in reported cargo thefts, that trend “does not indicate a decline in cargo theft risk in the U.S.” The firm adds that instead, thieves are homing in on specific loads that can be easily stolen or target specific products.
For the first time in eight years, food and drinks were not the most-stolen products in a year. Home and garden items topped the list in 2017.
In-transit thefts were most common in 2017, accounting for 78 percent of all recorded thefts during the year. Pilferage was the second-most common type of theft during the year, accounting for 15 percent of all thefts. Fictitious pickups saw a dramatic decrease in 2017, falling by 39 percent to account for just 3 percent of thefts. This decrease, SensiGuard says, was a result of the number of arrests, especially in Southern California, of cargo thieves.
Additionally, 75 percent of thefts in 2017 occurred in unsecured parking locations, including public parking areas, truck stops and drop lots.
Theft of full truckload incidents accounted for 78 percent of all thefts in 2017, followed by pilferage, accounting for 15 percent of thefts.
For the first time in eight years, food and drinks did not top the list of most-stolen items in 2017. Instead, home and garden products took the top spot, accounting for 17 percent of thefts during the year. Food and drinks made up 16 percent of the 2017 total, a 14 percent decrease from 2016. Other highly-targeted products included electronics (15 percent of thefts), and building and industrial (12 percent).
California continued to lead the nation in cargo thefts in 2017, accounting for 28 percent of thefts in the year. Texas came in behind California with 16 percent of thefts, followed by New Jersey (11 percent), Florida (9 percent) and Georgia (9 percent). ORIGINAL ARTICLE 

By Assignment Desk, Fox 5 NewsCONNECT


Springfield, Mo. -- (1/26/2018) Five Texas men have been indicted by a federal grand jury for stealing 650 firearms from United Parcel Service trailers in Springfield en route to Bass Pro Shops.

Frank McChriston, 33, of Ponder, Texas, Keith Lowe, 28, of Dallas, Texas, Quinton Haywood, 26, of Glenn Heights, Texas and Eric White, 26, and Derrick White, 32, both of Texas, were charged in a two-count indictment returned by a federal grand jury in Springfield on Wednesday. The federal indictment replaces a criminal complaint that was filed under seal on December 29, 2017. The five co-defendants were arrested in Texas, where they remain in federal custody pending transportation to the Western District of Missouri.

The indictment charges each of the five defendants in one count of aiding and abetting one another to steal firearms being shipped across state lines, from Beretta USA in Maryland to the state of Missouri. The indictment also charges each of the five defendants in one count of aiding and abetting one another to possess stolen firearms.

According to an affidavit filed in support of the original federal criminal complaint, Derrick and Eric White, McChriston, Lowe and Haywood stole 650 firearms, along with other cargo, from UPS trailers in Springfield in October 2017.

The firearms were in the process of being shipped from Beretta Firearms in Maryland to Bass Pro Shops in Springfield. The trailers in which the firearms were shipped had been parked in the UPS freight lot in a configuration to prevent access to the trailer doors, by being parked back-to-back, with the roll-up doors facing each other. The trailers were then blocked by longer trailers, which should have acted as a preventative measure from someone backing a truck-tractor to the trailer and pulling it forward.

Sometime between noon on October 28, 2017, and 8:30 a.m. on October 29, 2017, thieves hot-wired two truck-tractors and used them to push and pull various trailers around the lot, allowing the thieves access to the trailer doors. Thieves stole 600 Beretta .380-caliber handguns and 54 Beretta12-gauge shotguns, as well as an entire pallet of Justin brand boots, numerous power tools and 12 cases of soda. UPS employees discovered the theft on October 29, 2017, and notified law enforcement.

The next day, Best Way Moving & Storage in Springfield discovered that a truck had been stolen sometime after noon on October 28, 2017. On November 8, 2017, the stolen truck was found in Seagoville, Texas, which is in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex.

According to the affidavit, cell phone tower records indicated that the cell phones of Derrick White, Eric White, McChriston, Lowe and Haywood all were in the vicinity of the UPS freight facility in Springfield at or near the time of the theft. Investigators determined that all five cell phones left the Dallas metroplex on October 27, 2017, arrived in Springfield on October 28, 2017, and returned to the Dallas metroplex on October 29, 2017. Haywood’s phone was also in the area where the stolen truck from Best Way Moving was recovered in Seagoville.

Eric and Derrick White were located at Redneck Heaven Restaurant & Bar in Arlington, Texas, on November 19, 2017, and arrested on outstanding warrants from an unrelated case. A Beretta .380-caliber handgun was found in Derrick White’s car as it was being towed; investigators confirmed the firearm had been stolen from the shipment of firearms in the Springfield UPS freight facility. Additional items consistent with those stolen in the UPS theft were located in Derrick White’s vehicle, including a Milwaukee M18 2 Toll Combo Kit, still in the box, and two SOG folding knives, still in the box.

A loaded Taurus 9mm pistol was found in Eric White’s car. Investigators also recovered two sets of bolt cutters and two key rings containing several keys from Eric White’s car. The keys were the type commonly used for tractor trailer trucks and fork lifts, and circular keys common for storage units and vending machines.

Billy Hobbs Sep 13, 2017

An investigation into a major theft ring involving big trucks, trailers and assorted construction equipment valued in the hundreds of thousands of dollars has been solved with the recovery of items and the arrests of three men.
The case, spearheaded by the Baldwin County Sheriff’s Office, is likely to lead to additional arrests, according to Sheriff Bill Massee.
The case has been linked to nine other counties across Georgia where similar items have been stolen in recent weeks from construction sites, said Baldwin County Sheriff’s Detective Thomas “T.J.” Hargrove.
The theft ring, which is believed to have been led by a man now jailed in Baldwin County, could lead to racketeering charges being filed against the suspects already in custody and those yet to be arrested, Massee said.
Regardless of jurisdiction, if and when federal RICO charges are actually filed against the suspects and others expected to be arrested in the case, the entire case would then be prosecuted in Baldwin County.
Already Ocmulgee Judicial Circuit District Attorney Stephen A. Bradley is looking at the possibility of filing such charges against the trio of suspects now jailed in the Baldwin County Law Enforcement Center. Assistant District Attorneys Leonard D. Myers and Dawn Baskin also are involved in reviewing the case to determine if the suspects will be charged under the RICO Act.
“We’ve already discussed the idea of seeking RICO charges against the men we have in custody and others that will likely be arrested in this case,” said Hargrove, who is the lead detective in the case. “In a RICO case, you have to prove two elements. You have to prove conspiracy and you have to prove (criminal) enterprise.”
Several law enforcement agencies are involved in the case after Hargrove informed them of the magnitude and scope of the theft and that it involved numerous suspects.
One such agency is the Byron Police Department in Houston County.
“A cargo load of Kubota tractors, known as UTVs, were stolen to the tune of about $50,000,” Hargrove said. “They were brought to Baldwin County where they stayed for about 15 minutes. They stayed at 359 Allen Memorial Drive before the load was taken to Hancock County and unloaded and the truck and trailer discarded there.”
Authorities still have not determined where the stolen tractors ended up.
None of them have been recovered, Massee said.
“What we’re doing in the interim of waiting on the RICO idea to play out is we are having these various jurisdictions who will do it to go ahead and take charges in their jurisdictions,” Hargrove said. 
Hargrove identified the three suspects as: Jamaul Kenneth Evans, of Harrisburg Road, Lot 4-A, Milledgeville; Marcus Curtis, 29, of Huff Road, Apt. 2421, Atlanta; and Garrick Lashawn Dixon, of Brisco Road, Gordon.
Massee said Dixon lives in Baldwin County but has a Gordon mailing address.
Evans, whom authorities believe was one of the masterminds of the major theft ring, was taken into custody for felony probation violation, two counts of felony cargo theft, and one count of felony theft by receiving stolen property.
Dixon was charged with two counts of felony cargo theft, and one felony count of theft by receiving stolen property.
Curtis, who formerly lived in Milledgeville before moving to Atlanta, was charged with one felony count of theft by receiving stolen property.
Additional criminal charges are expected to be filed against all three of those men, Hargrove said, noting Curtis was taken into custody on an outstanding warrant at his Atlanta residence last Thursday afternoon by the U.S. Marshal’s Service.
Hargrove said he was in process of obtaining additional warrants against the three suspects.
“What we’ve done currently is arrest them on what we can prove happened in Baldwin County,” Hargrove said.
The detective explained that those involved in the theft ring are not interested in actually keeping the semi-trucks or trailers they steal.
“They don’t have any interest in those items,” Hargrove said. “That is merely to transport the property. They want the merchandise. They are after the load. They like construction-type of equipment.”
Authorities said they have learned the individual roles played by those they believe responsible for the crimes.
Aside from the case in Byron, another theft case happened Aug. 30 in Macon-Bibb County. 
“This is the most recent theft of a truck,” Hargrove said. “This is the one that was encountered on Harrisburg Road in Baldwin County.”
Local deputies already had been made aware of the thefts and were on the lookout for the possibility of stolen tractor-trailers with cargo.
Deputy Joshua Holcomb spotted what he believed to be a suspicious semi-tractor truck recently traveling along Harrisburg Road. The deputy turned around on the truck, but by the time he found the truck behind Martin’s IGA, the driver had managed to escape. A search for the suspect was conducted by deputies, a K-9 officer and tracking dog, but authorities didn’t catch the man driving the truck, which turned out to have been stolen.
The Sterling Industrial truck was stolen Aug. 28 on Baxter Avenue in Macon and recovered in Baldwin County.
The truck was valued at $50,000.
Another semi-tractor truck, a Freightliner, which had been stolen from Lamar County, was recovered in Baldwin County Aug. 16.
The truck was discovered behind the Collins P. Lee Community Center in the Harrisburg neighborhood.
“I knew that they liked two places here in the county, Martin’s IGA and the Harrisburg area,” Hargrove said. “I asked deputies when they had time to please check those two places.”
Deputy Benjamin Forbus recovered the stolen truck after its owner called the sheriff’s office to inform them that the truck’s GPS tracking system was showing that it was parked at the community center in Baldwin County.
“That truck was actually found on the same night it was stolen,” Hargrove said.
Deputy Lt. Lee Williamson recovered a stolen semi-tractor truck behind Martin’s IGA July 25, which is what led to the unfolding of the major theft investigation.
It began with the theft of two Bobcats within the city limits of Milledgeville.
“They thought kids were doing it, because they found one in a wooded area right behind from where it was taken,” Hargrove said. “What they (police officers) didn’t realize and what I didn’t realize is that these guys would take this stuff and dump it off in the woods in a desolate area and then come back later and pick it up. They wanted to make sure the GPS wasn’t enabled on it and they wanted to make sure nobody was looking for it.”
Once they discovered no one was coming for the stolen items, those believed involved in the crime spree went back and retrieved the items and then took them to Atlanta where they were sold to a person described as a “fence.”
Hargrove said when it got deeper into the case, he was advised to call for assistance from the Georgia Bureau of Investigation Major Theft Unit. GBI Special Agent Cecil Hutchins from the Conyers office rendered his assistance in the case.
The detective said he has also been assisted in the case by detectives Greg See, Chris Youngblood and Chris Burrell.
“We’re still trying to figure out what these three suspects are actually responsible for as far as thefts are concerned, as well as other people that are involved, but who have not yet been arrested,” Hargrove said.
Massee said what is unknown to authorities at this time is how many thefts happened that they haven’t or can’t document.
“We don’t know what the true volume is as far as number of theft cases is concerned,” Massee said. “The volume of stolen equipment and the dollar value that T.J. [Hargrove] has proven is a tremendous cost to property owners — these people who own these pieces of heavy equipment. What we don’t know is how many more pieces of equipment they stole that we haven’t documented yet.”
That’s why the case remains an active investigation, the sheriff pointed out.
“At this point in time, it literally covers from Milledgeville to Atlanta and to Crawford County,” Massee said. 
Anyone with information about such thefts is asked to call the Baldwin County Sheriff’s Office tip line at 478-445-5102.

​Original Article 

By WMCActionNews5.com Staff
By Jerry Askin

OLIVE BRANCH, MS (WMC) -Sixty-seven guns were stolen outside a sporting goods store in Olive Branch.
The guns were in a trailer parked at Academy Sports on Goodman Road. The trailer's driver arrived at around 10 p.m. He was set to deliver the contents of the trailer to the store at 6 a.m. the next day. 
Police said the truck driver went to sleep behind the store Sunday night; when he woke up, the guns and ammo were gone.
"We don't want to see these guns in the hands of young people or criminals at all," Olive Branch Police Chief Don Gammage said. "I'm so afraid they're going to make it out to the black market."
The guns taken were a mixture of handguns and long guns. Olive Branch Police Department said 61 of the 67 guns were handguns. Two of the guns are AR 15s. Two other guns were shotguns. Investigators did not release the type of guns for the final two.
"It is very scary thing to think about," Olive Branch resident Laura Molner said. "For people who live here, who live in Memphis, it's terrifying."
Olive Branch residents said it is not something they are used to hearing about in their city.
"You're safe where you're at," Molner said. "You don't hear things here. It's more like cities around us. Then, all of a sudden, it's been brought into our city."
But others said crime is everywhere, including Olive Branch.
One business owner said he has experienced thieves trying to break into his store more than once.
"It's unusual to hear something like that in Olive Branch," Terry McMullin, jewelry store owner, said. 
McMullin owns Master Jewelers, located across the street from Academy Sports. 
"We've had our problems in Olive Branch as well," McMullin said. "So crime is everywhere."
Molner and McMullin both are concerned their city is now more dangerous, because those guns could be in the hands of criminals.
"It's something that's concerning to me," McMullin said. "It's something that leads to increased crime. Not feeling safe in the community."
"It's scary. As someone who lives in Olive Branch, it's really scary to think that it could get into the wrong hands," Molner said. 
Gammage said the driver of the Knoxville-based trucking company has been questioned and is cooperating. As for the possibility of it being an inside job?
"We do not feel like this was random, I will say that," Gammage said.
Gammage said investigators have all the serial numbers and model numbers to the missing weapons. He's asking for the public's help in obtaining as much information as possible in order to find the stolen guns and the person(s) responsible.
"Firearms have always been liquid in the criminal world because they're easy to get rid of and they're not disposing of them through legal channels," Jeff Duncan, Gun Exchange of Olive Branch, said.
"If you think you saw something, please call us," Gammage said.
Academy Sports and Outdoors opened approximately two years ago in Olive Branch. A spokesperson for the company said the company is working with police.
The Knoxville-based trucking company that owned the trailer declined to comment on the situation.
Investigators are currently going through video surveillance hoping to track down the person(s) responsible. They're also working alongside the ATF and nearby law enforcement agencies.
Gammage said in March another trailer was broken into and, according to the crime tracker, that burglary happened at Academy Sports near Wolfchase. 
"We don't know if they are connected at this point," Gammage said. "We are definitely working to see if they are connected."

​ORIGINAL ARTICLE

 By James Jaillet 

The Transportation Security Administration has issued an internal report warning of the potential for terrorists to use trucks as weapons to conduct attacks. TSA also released a list of countermeasures, mostly involving awareness of surroundings and reporting suspicious activity, that truck owners and operators should heed to help prevent such attacks from occurring.
Though none have occurred in the U.S., high-profile truck-ramming attacks have been carried out elsewhere, including a July 2016 attack in Nice, France, that killed 87 people and injured 430, and a similar attack in December 2016 in Berlin, Germany, in which 12 people were killed and 56 were injured. The TSA report cites these and 15 other vehicle-ramming attacks, 10 of which occurred in the past 10 months. The straight truck used in the Nice attack was rented, but the truck and trailer used by terrorists in the Berlin attack was hijacked and driven to Berlin by the assailant. The trucker was murdered by the attacker during the hijacking.
Carriers and drivers should maintain “a high level of alertness,” the report says, and should report suspicious activity to authorities and, in the case of drivers, to their carrier. Other countermeasures for carriers and drivers include parking in secure locations, ensuring vehicles are locked, refusing rides for hitchhikers and other strangers and, for carriers, ensuring route compliance of drivers.

Truck used in Berlin attack was hijacked, trucking company boss saysThe Scania tractor-trailer used in the deadly terror attack in Berlin, Germany, on Monday was hijacked, according to a report from Britain's The Independent, citing ...
“Commercial vehicle owners and operators should alert their staff to possible theft or hijacking of vehicles by would-be attackers and the importance of reporting suspicious activities to appropriate authorities,” the report says.
Dubbed “Vehicle Ramming: Threat Landscape, Indicators and Countermeasures,” the memo was issued to Homeland Security staffers, law enforcement agencies and others this week. The seven-page internal memo, marked unclassified, was obtained by Overdrive Friday.
“Terrorist organizations overseas have advocated conducting vehicle ramming attacks…against crowds, buildings and other vehicles. It is likely that terrorist groups will continue to encourage aspiring attackers to employ unsophisticated attacks such as vehicle-ramming, since these types of attacks minimize the potential for premature detection and could inflict mass fatalities, if successful,” according to the report.
Trucks in particular “present an especially attractive mechanism for ramming attacks,” the report says, “because of the ease with which they can penetrate security barriers and the large-scale damage they can inflict on people and infrastructure.”
— David Hollis contributed to this report.

ORIGINAL ARTICLE - CCJ 

By Andrea Alvarez

“To my knowledge, in our 20 year history of being in this location, we have not had this kind of a theft,” said Donovan Mowery, the Warehouse Manager at LaSalle Bristol.
Several companies in Elkhart were targeted in the last 45 days. Their semi trailers were stolen right off their lots. There were also some thefts in South Bend. Now, police are now working with each other to investigate.
“Networking with other agencies so there's the sheriff’s department or South Bend or Saint Joe County. As they get information, you know, we can share that and hopefully be able to put the pieces of the puzzle together,” said Chris Snyder with Elkhart Police Department.
Eight of those trailers originally came from Kingman Mobile Storage in Elkhart. They’re leased to businesses in the county like LaSalle Bristol.
“We’ve had three trailers stolen from the lot during the evening hours when the facility is closed,” said Mowery.
Mowery says nothing was in those trailers, but nonetheless, the theft is costing them big bucks.
“You’re talking about a value of approximately 20,000 dollars for all three trailers,” said Mowery.
So how do police go about catching these thieves?
“We get the serial or Vin number for the trailer, were able to enter that into a state and national computer so that if anybody runs that the number, if they were to get pulled over for some reason, it would come back as being stolen,” said Snyder.
However, Mowery says that will be difficult since all the trailers stolen from them were intended for storage only so they weren’t plated for road use. Now, he says the company has taken steps to ensure it doesn’t happen again.
“We have put glad hands locks on all the trailers which disable the e-brake line so the trailer cannot be moved off the lot,” said Mowery.
Police suggest other businesses follow suit.
“Whether its locks on the trailer, making sure you’re buildings are secure, different things like that. We certainly encourage all the businesses to come up with some type of system to be able to secure your property,” said Snyder.
Elkhart police say they have received surveillance video from LaSalle Bristol of that theft happening. There are no suspects at this time, however they are working with those other agencies to collect all of the details for leads on the investigation.

​
By Keith Goble, Land Line state legislative editor | Friday, February 17, 2017
​
Efforts in Mississippi and New Mexico, which are intended to deter the theft of truck, rail or container cargo through stiff punishment, have cleared hurdles.

According to FreightWatch International, Mississippi and New Mexico rank in the top half of states in the number of cargo thefts. Florida, California, Texas, New Jersey and Georgia are in the top five.

Florida, Georgia, New Jersey and Texas are among the states with rules in place that make cargo theft a specific crime with stiff punishment for offenders.

Advocates say that cargo theft by organized crime rings has become a very serious problem across the nation. The FBI says cargo theft causes $15 billion to $30 billion in losses each year.

The Mississippi House voted 109-9 to advance a bill to establish cargo theft as a specific offense and impose felony charges with escalating fines and punishment based on the value of goods.

The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association, which has about 2,130 members residing in Mississippi, says the legislative effort to deter cargo theft is a reasonable and overdue deterrent intended to better protect the livelihood of the men and women that help drive the economy. 

Mike Matousek, OOIDA director of state legislative affairs, said cargo theft is bad for everyone involved in the supply chain, especially truck drivers.

“When a trucker becomes the victim of theft, it can be financially devastating,” Matousek said. “Such an occurrence could effectively put our members, the majority of whom are single truck owner-operators, out of business.

“The same goes for those involved in seasonal operations as they miss out on a year’s income in a short period of time.”

In an effort to discourage thefts in Mississippi, HB722 calls for offenders to face prison in addition to monetary penalties. Specifically, thieves who steal cargo from trucks loaded with controlled substances, or pharmaceuticals, valued at less than $10,000 would face fines up to $100,000 and/or up to 10 years in prison.

Theft of controlled substances valued up to $1 million could result in as much as 25 years behind bars and/or fines up to $1 million. Loads valued in excess of $1 million could result in prison terms as long as 30 years and/or fines up to $1 million.

Violators of other property heists valued as much as $1,000 would face misdemeanor charges. Theft of cargo valued as high as $10,000 would include fines up to $100,000 and/or 10 years behind bars. Stolen loads valued in excess of $10,000 could result in 20 years in prison and/or fines up to $1 million.

Another provision in the bill covers fifth wheels, and any antitheft locking device attached to the fifth wheel. Any attempt to alter, move or sell a fifth wheel could result in 10-year prison terms and/or $100,000 fines.

The bill awaits assignment to committee in the Senate.

In New Mexico, the Senate Public Affairs Committee has forwarded a bill to establish the theft of trailer or container cargo as a specific offense and impose significant punishment.

The bill, SB74, would authorize second-degree felony charges. Offenders would face up to nine years in prison and fines up to the fair market value of the property stolen and the cost of recovering the property.

To view other legislative activities of interest for Mississippi, click here. For more information on New Mexico legislation click here. 

​Original Article