Three men have been arrested in connection with the 2014 theft of a multimillion-dollar shipment of pain pills in Bartow County, authorities said.
Filipe Hurtado Cruz was arrested Thursday in Colorado Springs, Colo., after a two-year investigation by Georgia Bureau of Investigation agents, according to a news release Friday. The Drug Enforcement Administration and the Colorado Springs Police Department helped in the arrest.
Also arrested were Yosvani Cordero and Yoandy Linares Machado, who already were in custody in Dalton on unrelated charges, officials said.
The suspects were charged with three counts of cargo theft, trafficking in controlled substances, fleeing and attempting to elude police, and possession of tools for the commission of a crime, officials said.
The theft occurred two years ago at the Pilot Travel Center truck stop near I-75 in Cartersville, according to the release from the GBI and the Bartow County Sheriff’s Office. The suspects allegedly followed the driver and stole the truck and trailer, which was hauling a shipment of hydrocodone through the state.
Bartow deputies and Georgia State Patrol troopers found the trailer, officials said. A pursuit ensued when authorities tried to stop the truck, according to the release. The driver of the truck eventually stopped in an industrial park and ran away, abandoning the cargo.
When investigators searched the truck, they found multiple GPS jamming devices and other evidence that connected the men to the theft, authorities said.
The investigation is ongoing. Authorities believe others may have been involved and expect to make more arrests, the release said.
Anyone with information should call the GBI at 770-918-6772.
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