Vitamins Hijacked (then Swiftly Recovered with GPS Tracking)

(My Original Blog Post: http://ping.fm/Ph5bt)
Truck drivers make their living by driving long hours and transporting large amounts of goods within a state or between states. They are targets for theft because their goods carry significant value. Can you imagine your rather large tractor trailer stolen right from the truck stop while you were dining? It continues to happen, even though safeguards are in place to protect expensive consumer goods traveling cross country.

A GPS tracking system allows a person possessing a GPS-enabled device to track people or possessions that have a GPS device attached to them. The GPS tracking system has twenty-four satellites spread in six orbital spheres above the earth. These satellites provide coverage for virtually every place on earth. The system transmits signals from the satellites to the GPS-enabled device, allowing tracking of a person or possession in real-time. You are able to precisely locate and follow movements through GPS tracking. GPS tracking may be used for historical time. With the assistance of tracking software, you can watch a track later on video and determine the movement of a person or possession.

A GPS tracking system came in handy in a recent theft of a tractor trailer transporting $500,000 worth of over-the-counter pharmaceuticals, mostly consisting of vitamins. The Batesville, Arkansas-based truck began its journey in Pennsylvania and journeyed into Virginia where the driver and passenger stopped to eat at a Glade Spring truck stop. It was stolen as they ate inside. The truck driver and passenger later reported they were sure they locked the truck. Washington County Virginia Sheriff’s detective Jaime Blevins tracked the stolen truck using a GPS tracking device placed with the pharmaceutical vitamins. About ninety minutes after the truck was reported stolen, police recovered the truck in Tennessee. Tennessee Highway Patrol officers located the abandoned truck on the side of the road with the cargo left intact. However, the seal on the truck was broken, indicating the robber inspected the goods. The thief abandoned the truck before an interstate truck weighing station so he would avoid inspection by highway officials.

The GPS tracking system set up in the cargo sent signals to Jaime Blevins, his Virginia-based law enforcement partners, and highway officials in Kentucky and Tennessee. Once the truck stopped moving, Tennessee patrolmen recovered the stolen truck. Delay in shipment was the only consequence. They were lucky this thief did not destroy the rig, trailer or the contents. Having GPS tracking find the truck fast prevented further damage of precious goods. Shouldn’t GPS be a part of your delivery process?