GBI, FBI investigate theft of truck loaded with $8.8 million in pharmaceuticals

By RHONDA COOK

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

State and federal agents are investigating the theft from a Temple truck stop of a tractor-trailer loaded with about $8.8 million in pharmaceutical drugs, including blood thinners and cold medicine, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation and FBI said Wednesday.

GBI spokesman John Bankhead said this was the second time since May that an unattended tractor-trailer rig had been stolen from the Pilot truck stop at Interstate 20 in Haralson County. Each time, the driver was showering.

In the most recent case, the driver left the 2007 Peter Built tractor-trailer in the parking lot around 8 p.m. Friday, and when he returned the $100,000 truck and the load were gone.

The cab had been locked and the driver took the key, according to investigators.

“Georgia is one of the top states for cargo theft,” GBI Director Vernon Keenan said.

The thieves prefer electronics and pharmaceutical drugs, Keenan said. A recent case investigated by the GBI’s new major theft unit involved the hijacking of a load of frozen beef.

“There are organized gangs that are involved in cargo theft. Many of the thefts are of the high-end cargo,” Keenan said. “Many times they [the thieves] will have buyers already lined up for the product. Many times they are shipping [the stolen cargo] out of the United States. This is very much an organized criminal activity.”