A suspected carrier impersonation in Illinois sent a $586,000 copper shipment to a Kentucky warehouse instead of South Carolina. Investigators used Schneider GPS data to locate all six pallets and later tracked the company’s stolen equipment to Ohio. Authorities recovered the cargo and equipment within eight hours after law enforcement received notification Sept. 11. Police took three people into custody in Kentucky and one in Ohio.
Cook County Sheriff’s Police Department Commander Michael Ware provided FreightWaves with details about the suspected fictitious-pickup theft. The shipment originated in DeKalb, Illinois, with an intended destination of Rock Hill, South Carolina. According to his statement, individuals allegedly used a legitimate motor carrier’s identity and published contact information to obtain it. CargoNet Crime Intelligence Analyst Shannon Elliott alerted Ware, setting the multistate response in motion.
GPS leads to warehouse
The Cook County Sheriff’s Police Department opened a case and entered Schneider’s trailer as stolen. Investigators also added the tractor and identified driver through what Ware described as a “felony vehicle entry.” CargoNet recorded the incident under reference CN-26-09-00037. Schneider National supplied GPS data that helped authorities trace the missing cargo to Prestonsburg, Kentucky.
Kentucky authorities recovered all six copper pallets inside the warehouse. State police took three individuals into custody in connection with that shipment, according to Ware’s follow-up. Investigators later tracked Schneider’s chassis and container to Chillicothe, Ohio. Local officers secured the equipment while Ohio State Highway Patrol troopers stopped the tractor associated with the original pickup…