Trucking news and briefs for Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2024:
Two big cocaine hauls found in trucks at border
Officers found packages of cocaine in a hidden compartment of a flatbed (left) and within a load of avocados in separate incidents.U.S. Customs and Border Protection
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) recently discovered two large shipments of cocaine hidden in trucks attempting to cross the U.S. border from Mexico.
On Sept. 10 at the Otay Mesa Commercial Facility in California, CBP officers found more than $1 million worth of cocaine smuggled in a hidden compartment of an empty flatbed trailer.
CBP officers encountered a 34-year-old man driving a tractor and pulling the empty trailer, applying for entry from Mexico into the United States. A CBP K9 unit conducted a cursory inspection of the truck and alerted officers to the presence of narcotics. The driver, a valid border crossing card holder, was referred for further examination along with the tractor-trailer and empty flatbed.
In the secondary inspection area, CBP officers utilized non-intrusive inspection technology to screen the truck, revealing anomalies. Upon inspecting the fifth wheel area of the tractor-trailer, CBP officers discovered and extracted 65 packages. The contents of the packages were tested and identified as cocaine, weighing a total of 167.11 pounds with an estimated street value of $1,270,000.
CBP officers seized the narcotics and commercial tractor-trailer. The driver was turned over to the custody of Homeland Security Investigations for further investigation.
On Sept. 13 at the Pharr International Bridge in Texas, officers seized more than $503,000 in cocaine that was found in a shipment of avocados. A CBP officer referred a tractor-trailer for further inspection, and upon a secondary examination, CBP officers discovered 16 packages containing a total of 37.69 pounds of alleged cocaine within the trailer. The drugs had a street value of approximately $503,355.
CBP seized the narcotics and tractor trailer. Homeland Security Investigations special agents initiated a criminal investigation.
[Related: $10M in drugs hidden in load of flowers at border]
ATRI seeks driver feedback on demographic info
The American Transportation Research Institute (ATRI) is conducting research to understand the make-up of the U.S. truck driver population and how it is changing over time.
ATRI will assess over 20 years of survey data from truck drivers, and this latest truck driver survey will provide the newest information on the composition of the truck driver population today -- allowing the research to compare changing trends.
The brief survey will seek insights on professional and personal aspects of truck drivers today, enabling ATRI to understand the shifts in the truck driver population over the last few decades. All collected data will be kept completely confidential.
The survey is being conducted in concert with ATRI research that is assessing how underrepresented groups might be recruited into the trucking industry, including women, foster care participants and formerly incarcerated individuals.
Truck drivers are encouraged to participate in the survey here.
[Related: More heat on detention, which ATRI finds cost trucking $15B in 2023]
Relay Payments now accepted at Love’s
Relay Payments is now integrated with Love's Travel Stops, broadening its digital payment network.
Since launching its fuel payments offering in 2023, Relay is now used by more than 400,000 drivers and 100,000 carriers for secure over-the-road payments, including for fuel, scales, cash advances and lumpers, the company said.
Adding Love's Travel Stops to its network -- alongside Pilot, Maverik, Yesway, AMBEST, Onvo and more -- marks a significant step toward modernizing over-the-road payments, Relay said. As a result of rapid adoption, Relay has now processed millions of transactions securely.
"Relay's acceptance at leading fueling stops speaks to the rapid adoption of our solutions and the industry's need for a comprehensive and secure digital payment network," said CEO Ryan Droege. "Our mission is to build an end-to-end digital payments network designed specifically for the trucking and logistics industry, helping fleets and drivers keep more of their earnings and reduce frustrations."
[Related: Fuel payments providers boost theft protections amid explosion of card skimming]
