Road Scholar Transportation

Tomatoes and other produce are being dubbed the new MVP (Most Valuable Product) among thieves after nearly $300,000 worth the food products were stolen last month by a group of thieves who created a fraudulent trucking company.

E&A Transport Express, a false Miami-based trucking company, is said to have stolen eight tractor trailers worth the food products which include six loads of tomatoes, one load of cucumbers, and one load of frozen meat, according to thestar.com.

Why thieves would target tomatoes instead of a trailer full of electronics may pose as a question to many.  The answer would have to do with freezing temperatures in Mexico that ruined and damaged crops, raising the price of produce, the site notes.

One 40,000 pound load of tomatoes that was stolen, for instance, cost West Coast Tomato $42,000 (http://www.thestar.com/news/world/article/975215–vegetable-bandits-strike-as-food-prices-soar).

The thieves, who are still not caught, realized the impact that freezing weather conditions would play on produce sales, which is why, thestar.com explains, E&A Transport Express quickly registered with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration and began to search out brokers listing produce loads.

One of these brokers was Allen Lund, who verified the company’s registration with the FMCSA before giving the thieves loads.  But they were not the only ones conned.  Three other brokers were wrapped up in E&A Transport Express’s scheme as well.

By taking loads that were given a few days for delivery due to distance, the company had enough time to pull of the theft before the goods were reported missing/undelivered.  On the other hand, if the shipper had transported their cargo with Road Scholar Transport, they would been able to track their shipment live as well as have their freight constantly monitored by Road Scholar employees so that if a driver goes off route, the driver and truck are immediately contacted and checked of any problems.

Unfortunately, the inability to track your freight is the case for many produce companies who go through brokers to ship their freight.

More and more instances of fraudulent companies using online methods to develop and steal freight are erupting, posing a concern for those shippers using brokers, since they do not know who exactly is handling their freight or if the company now trusted with their goods is legit.

Having your products stolen is a concern for all companies but especially food, beverage, and pharmaceutical industries whose products, when in the wrong hands, could become contaminated and result in large effects on the health of the general public.

This can be prevented by choosing a reputable company who has been in business for years and is well-versed in cargo security, such as Road Scholar Transport.

Road Scholar has joined CargoNet, a group dedicated to theft prevention and recovery, and is continuously pushing the performance envelope with new products and technologies with an emphasis on brand protection and on time performances.

Owner Jim Barrett has been asked (and accepted) to do several radio interviews and presentations on cargo security.  Some of these include the radio show “Tough Talk” with Joe Peters, which you can hear at http://www.roadscholar.com/webinars/toughtalk2.html and presentations with Walt Beadling, President of the Cargo Security Alliance, who was recently featured on Fox News as an expert in the cargo security scare.

You can view a pdf explaining all of our features/services at http://www.roadscholar.com/cms/uploads/files/rs-security.pdf.

Don’t let your products be the target of a theft scheme.  Go to www.roadscholar.com to learn what Road Scholar can do for you.

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