Here’s a different type of LTL load being carried by an owner-operator trucking out of Los Angeles- marijuana. Darnell A. Allen was caught with 390 pounds of pot at a weigh station on I-65 in Kentucky, reportedly heading north to Indianapolis. He was sited with “various state safety and regulatory violations” on top of the obvious drug trafficking charges; 390 pounds puts it well out of the personal-use category.
I’m surprised that truckers even try to use trucks to ship freight of that nature; just one open weight station and a drug-sniffing dog or sharp-eyed DOT guy will be the end of the trip, and that large of a load of pot is hard to hide. It would me much safer to put it in the back of a pickup truck or van that would not be subject to weigh stations and the scrutiny that comes with them.
However, times are tough for owner-operators. Since Mr. Allen was from LA, it may have been especially tough, given that OOs have been frozen out of the port of LA and seen tighter regulations go up at the port of Long Beach. That would make the remaining market for OOs in the LA area much tougher. He might have been tempted to supplement his income with some unorthodox interstate transport or been pressured into doing so by one of the Mexican cartels, who have been known to give truckers a bribe-or-bullet option.
We may find out the motivation when the case goes to court; if he was pressured into taking on the load, it may come out at trial.
Source:http://www.louisvillemojo.com/blogs/Louisv…ana_Trafficking
Tags: cargo shipping, freight transport, interstate shipping, ship freight