Summary: This week, CargoNet assisted in the recovery of a trailer and cargo of beer stolen from a truck stop in Georgia. Law enforcement had found the trailer suspicious and determined the license plate had not matched the trailer it was attached to. This practice is known as “cold plating”. Law enforcement secured the scene and checked the trailer for a VIN, which they determined was stripped off the unit, a big indicator of a stolen vehicle. The trailer was opened and discovered a full load of beer. CargoNet was called and asked to find a matching theft, while the law enforcement agency called the trailer manufacturer to get the unit’s full VIN from a hidden partial VIN under the trailer. The manufacturer provided the full VIN, which the law enforcement agency matched to an active stolen vehicle. With this information, CargoNet was quickly able to identify the theft and assist the law enforcement agency in the recovery more than a year after the theft.
The cargo theft prevention and recovery network
