4 Cuban nationals arrested for operating trucking theft ring targeting critical computer systems: HCSO

The Brief

  • An organized theft ring – aimed at stealing the critical computer systems that play a big part in the trucking industry – has been taken down, according to the Hillsborough County sheriff.
  • A total of 93 people fell victim to the theft ring, and it caused $750,000 in thefts and damages.
  • The four accused thieves are from the Palm Beach and Miami-Dade area. Three of them are illegal immigrants from Cuba and one came to the U.S. on a green card.

TAMPA, Fla. Four Cuban nationals have been arrested for running an organized theft ring aimed at stealing the critical computer systems that play a big part in the trucking industry, according to the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office.

Sheriff Chad Chronister, alongside Attorney General James Uthmeier, announced the arrests Tuesday after a months-long investigation with 20 cases throughout Hillsborough County, Lee County, Polk County and Duval County.

The backstory:

Investigators say that the men would break into the freightliner tractor truck’s engine compartment by any means possible to secure the engine control module (ECM), oftentimes damaging many other parts in the process.

The ECM is essentially the engine’s brain and it controls various subsystems. Chronister says these computer systems can be sold for $3,000-$10,000 each.

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