Exclusive: Anatomy of a Cargo Theft Ring

This feature is contributed by Ryan Joyce, CEO at GenLogs. Some names have been changed to protect identities.

There was nothing unusual or unique about the load – a few golf carts to be moved from southern California to Minnesota. The PFX Logistics post on DAT garnered a few interested carriers, and MTC Cargo Inc. (USDOT# 2846241) had the best reasonable rate. PFX checked MTC Cargo’s profile on Highway and even called the dispatch number that was listed – all looked good there too. The paperwork was exchanged, and the pickup was scheduled. 

Less than an hour away, MTC Cargo was getting a dry van loaded in Perris, CA, after LoopTrans found them on DAT. This was the second load that LoopTrans had assigned to MTC Cargo in as many days – everything checked out on the Highway platform. Nothing seemed amiss. 

But MTC Cargo had never operated in California before. They were domiciled in Cary, IL, and only operated one step-deck in a 300-mile radius – and even that hadn’t been on the roads in the last 90 days…

Two days later, the shippers started calling. The golf carts and other loads never arrived. PFX and LoopTrans each tried to call the MTC Cargo driver, but to no avail.