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 SmileTrans found them on DAT. This was the second load that SmileTrans 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 SmileTrans each tried to call the MTC Cargo driver, but to no avail. 

The golf cart shipper provided images of the truck - a white Volvo cab ‘333’ with the MTC Cargo:

The driver claimed he was ‘Aman Pannu’ and provided an Ohio driver's license. PFX tracked down an old phone number for MTC Cargo – before it had been changed on Highway – and called the former owner. An exhausted Sergiy Mario answered the phone and shared that he had sold his MC number to a ‘Michael Rock’ on March 1st, 2025. Since then, he had fielded calls from numerous brokers, including SmileTrans, all furiously trying to find their missing freight. PFX was the 15th load stolen by the cargo theft ring. 

Unsure where else to turn, PFX sent an email to GenLogs. 

Using the images from the golf cart shipper, GenLogs was able to find the white Volvo ‘333’ truck operating in California, as well as another white Freightliner with a distinctive truck logo on the door and the cab number ‘7’

Both trucks had zip-tied license plates affixed to their cabs, but just as quickly as they appeared in California, they vanished.

Over a month passed, and the theft ring lay dormant. Then, on April 18th, another email came to GenLogs out of the blue: nearly $ 200,000 worth of solar panels had been stolen from Compton, CA. The broker passed along the driver’s license – it was ‘Michael Rock’:

The load had been booked on DAT under the carrier name Akran Trucking LLC (USDOT# 3649238). Another broker, TopSpot, tendered a nearby load to ‘Michael Rock’ at Akran Trucking. He was far from friendly, but everything checked out on Highway – but an hour after the pickup, the MacroPoint cut near Chino, CA, and the load disappeared. The shipper provided an image of the driver who gave the name ‘Bobby’:

Just like MTC Cargo the prior month, GenLogs platform showed that Akran Trucking only had 1 power unit and only 1 inspection from early 2024. GenLogs had repeatedly seen a gold Freightliner operating in Indiana where it was domiciled – but never in California. And then in early April, three new power units suddenly appeared with Akran’s Trucking USDOT operating in southern California. Despite appearing with fresh zip-tied license plates, two of the power units were unmistakable as previously operating as MTC Cargo before switching to Akran Trucking:

As more brokers began to report thefts from Akran Trucking, GenLogs initiated outreach to California law enforcement entities to contain the damage and facilitate arrests. But once again, the theft ring disappeared just as quickly as they had arrived. GenLogs figured it was only a matter of time before they popped up again, and the focus of the investigation remained on California. Nearly two months passed by…

The email hit GenLogs’ Investigation inbox on June 17th. A load of cosmetics had been stolen out of New Jersey. Once again, a large broker connected with the carrier for the first time on DAT. The broker used SaferWatch to verify the contact information for Adnan Express LLC (USDOT# 3491179) – everything checked out. But after picking up the load, the driver claimed he had a breakdown and missed the dropoff window – then he stopped answering the broker’s calls altogether. Four other brokerages reported theft caused by Adnan Express, including a Top 50 brokerage using a popular carrier vetting platform paired with both DAT and TruckStop. The GenLogs Investigations team punched in the USDOT and the results popped up on the screen…

It was the same theft ring from Southern California – now operating over 3,000 miles away on the East Coast. The unmistakable white Volvo ‘333’ and Freightliner ‘7’ power units were now observed as far as Maryland, operating with Adnan Express placards. This time, a red Freightliner ‘2222’ cab and a white Freightliner ‘007’ cab were in the mix:

Police were dispatched to interview the former owner of Adnan Express, Mohamed Latif*. Like the other owner-operators before him, Mohamed claimed that he had recently sold his MC # online. Until recently, he had only operated one crimson Freightliner between Texas and Missouri – but never on the East Coast. The sudden arrival of four new power units operating on the East Coast would have been a red flag to anyone checking GenLogs’ system. 

One of the shippers had a clear-ish view of one of the drivers involved in the thefts – he looked similar to Aman Pannu from the earlier thefts.

Like the other two string of thefts before it, the cargo theft ring popped its head up, struck multiple brokers on the load boards, and then went underground again. 

But this time was different. Having observed the theft ring on both the West Coast and the East Coast, GenLogs tasked its sensor network to alert for any sightings of the four power units now known to be affiliated with this serial theft ring. GenLogs had noticed that with each previous string of thefts, the network had appeared on the roads operating under a new MC # a few days before the thefts started to occur. Perhaps GenLogs could get ahead of the next string of attacks…

Then it happened. 

Last Friday, GenLogs picked up the red Freightliner ‘2222’ traveling northwest out of Dallas hauling a Maersk trailer. It was the same truck previously impersonating Adnan Express and Akran Trucking:

GenLogs then saw other trucks from the theft ring leaving the East Coast and traveling westbound. Two of them were seen caravaning together in close proximity. They were on a mission, and they all had a new placard on their sides:Medspeed LLC - USDOT # 867952 - MC # 381085

This time, GenLogs saw the change before the network started to hit their victims. Medspeed had no FreightGuard reports going into the weekend – but the network was clearly planning for a big July 4th score. 

GenLogs huddled internally about what to do with the information. It was clear that GenLogs customers were fairly insulated from the thefts – after ITS Logistics signed with GenLogs, their critical incident rate fell to .004% despite moving a million loads per year. But GenLogs felt it was important to warn the rest of the industry about this theft network that they were now tracking in real-time.

So late Sunday evening, GenLogs released the ‘Anatomy of a Cargo Theft Ring’ video to warn brokers of the pending thefts about to take place on the load boards.

GenLogs continues to have alerts placed on this theft network and numerous others. They are getting more sophisticated. They are bypassing the vetting platforms and churning through more MCs as they strike victims on the load boards. But one thing you can’t hide is a Class 8 truck and 53’ trailer. This is why checking a digital footprint against a carrier’s physical footprint is so critical. The load boards should be a last resort – connecting with great carriers directly should always be the preferred path. 

GenLogs will continue to monitor and report on the various cargo theft rings that are costing the industry nearly $35 billion annually. While digital verification platforms will continue to struggle, you can’t put a price tag on connecting with the right carrier recently running the right lane with the right equipment. GenLogs nationwide network of cameras give you real-time visibility of all carriers operating out there so that you can own the roads.