FSN Tracking Technology and Recovery Service Quickly Leads Law to Stolen $1.5 Million Load
09/13/2006
Thieves should think twice before hi-jacking a trailer carrying FSN’s new covert cargo trackers. When Orestes Miribal stole a trailer carrying $1.5 million in cigarettes along Interstate 95 in St. Johns County, Georgia, he never imagined he’d get caught 90 minutes later.* He even took the extra precaution of switching the stolen trailer to a different tractor to elude law enforcement recovery efforts. But what Miribal did not know was that his purloined cargo also included special covert tracking units monitored by FreightWatch’s cargo theft emergency response team. Within minutes of the rig’s driver reporting the theft—which occurred during a late night break at a truck stop—the cargo’s shipper and FreightWatch began monitoring the current location and direction of the stolen load using FSNtracks, FreightWatch’s web-based tracking service that provides up-to-the-minute location information. While Miribal and his accomplices were switching the trailer to a different tractor in a remote area along IH-95, FreightWatch’s law enforcement liaison alerted the Florida State Highway Patrol and St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office. Using the latest Assisted-GPS tracking technology embedded in the cigarette cargo itself, FreightWatch kept local and regional law enforcement agencies apprised of the cargo’s location—significantly narrowing the search area and making it much faster for law officers to find the perpetrator and recover the stolen cargo. In fact, the entire stolen load was recovered so quickly it was still delivered on time to its intended destination. "This is a good example of technology paying big dividends for us," said Sheriff David Shoar of the St. Johns County Sheriff's Office.** “It was a coordinated effort between the shipper, FreightWatch, and law enforcement that led to this recovery. We are ecstatic how our team was able to lead law enforcement directly to the criminals in time to recover every last cigarette,” said Barry Conlon, President of FreightWatch International (USA). “This incident is a testament to the capabilities of our covert tracking technology and cargo recovery services. This incident demonstrates how FreightWatch is uniquely qualified to protect our clients’ assets across thousands of miles of treacherous roadways.” FSNtracks is a web-based service that electronically extends FreightWatch logistics security coverage by monitoring high-value products while they are being delivered to distributors and resellers. The FSNtracks solution makes driver freight security compliance monitoring and covert cargo tracking affordable by replacing human resources with low cost, portable, electronic tracking devices. "When hidden in product boxes, antenna-less package trackers are very hard to defeat," said Bill Games, President of Freight Security Net. "The success of covert trackers in enabling the recovery of this stolen load is proof that even professional cargo thieves will need to go elsewhere when they learn that high-value cargo is being monitored by FSN’s FSNtracks." References About FreightWatch Contacts: Bill Games |