At first the freight broker thought it was a mistake. The $60,000 load of oversized tires was supposed to go from Los Angeles to Alaska. Instead, the trucker was taking them to Miami. But after reviewing his paperwork, she realized he’d been duped as an unknowing accessory to a cross-country cargo theft attempt.
But first, she had to convince the driver.
“It’s the first time in my life where a driver truly thought I was lying,” recalled Grace Sharkey, a former freight broker who now works as a reporter at FreightWaves. “He thought I was intercepting it.”
FreightWaves’ true-crime podcast Long-Haul Crime Log tells the story of how Sharkey and her colleagues foiled the cargo theft – and how the criminals attempted to pull it off through a double-brokering scheme.
“An intelligent double-broker was looking for a specific type of product to steal – and almost pulled it off,” Sharkey said.
This week’s episode is co-hosted by FreightWaves journalists Nate Tabak and Clarissa Hawes.
Long-Haul Crime Log, presented by FreightCasts, is a podcast that delves into the dark side of the trucking industry and the larger world of freight.
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Find episodes by searching for Long-Haul Crime Log on your preferred podcast provider. You can also subscribe directly to Long-Haul Crime Log via Apple Podcasts and Spotify.
Reach out at crime@freightwaves.com or find us on Twitter @LongHaulCrime.
