Top Secret Transport--How it is REALLY done.

I am a truck driver. I work for a major transportation company ( think Swift, Schneider, PAM Transport, CR England, Conway, etc.) I have been driving professionally for just under two years. I drive a team truck ( meaning that we only stop for fuel and food twice every 24 hours...for about 30 minutes while we switch drivers)
Recently, we have picked up several loads that are quite suspicious for me. One day, we were re-routed off a Georgia to California load and told to go to a secure lot in El Paso to pick up a high-security/high value load. We arrived at the lot and were told to drop our load in a specific area and park our bobtail in a special place and await orders. We were contacted within the hour and ordered to go to a local truck stop and top off our tanks and return to the secure lot to await a briefing by a security person.
The person arrived in a government assigned vehicle with gov't plates and proceeded to inspect our truck and our logs. Then we were to exit the truck and follow the person while he inspected the trailer and watched us both inspect the trailer. He took copies of our CDL's and took pictures of us. He had us sign an electronic pad and two paper documents and informed us that we had a 250 mile "red zone"-- meaning we could stop for NOTHING in the first two hundred and fifty miles....and if we had to stop after that, we were to get permission by calling an 800 number on our phones and reporting the time, exit number, and reason for the stop as well as the expected amount of time needed for the stop. We were NOT to stop in a large city for ANY reason and he gave us SPECIFIC instructions as to what we were to do if we felt we were being followed.
We were informed that we would be followed by at least two unmarked vehicles thru all large cities and that we were NOT allowed to stop in them for ANY reason.
We are used to alcohol and tobacco and electronics loads that have many security restrictions placed upon them, but this was BEYOND excessive.
Our bills of lading gave only item numbers and weights and the load weighed only 500 lbs....NOT common for a high security load of tobacco or alcohol or electronics.
The trailer was loaded when we picked it up. It was sealed with a "custom" seal made from braided stainless wire. We picked up and delivered to secure lots. Shipped by the U.S. Gov't. Light weight. Excessive restrictions. Secret Escorts. Etc.
After thinking awhile, I realized that this would be the PERFECT way to deliver top secret docs or hardware. Just a couple redneck truck drivers in common trucks.
Thoughts?

Well I'd like to say "Pics...or it didn't happen" but hell! That's a cool accounting of your event. Can't wait to see how others chime in

reply to post by tonyb1968


Perhaps it was a "rendition" of some poor sod, or drugs, or weapons or any number of illegal things the US government muddies its hands with.

What government department were they (the armed forces have their own drivers & transport)? Could it have been a sophisticated criminal operation, instead?

Probably was some politicians loot stolen from the public...

reply to post by tonyb1968


I have a question up front. Did it pull like it was really 500lbs, or do you have a dash scale/suspension gauge to see if it was near what they claimed?

What you're describing is nothing unusual to what I heard about in my years on the road. For others not familiar with it, there are some companies that dedicate to doing little or nothing but this kind of hauling. Everything from bombs to blankets to coins. I never got onto one like this, and I'm not sure I've have said yes if one had been offered where I'd worked. Just a lot of hassle. (Although a 'don't stop for ANYTHING' pass would have been kinda neat for the novelty of the meaning. Of course, they mean anything)

Wrabbit2000
reply to post by tonyb1968

 

Although a 'don't stop for ANYTHING' pass would have been kinda neat for the novelty of the meaning. Of course, they mean anything

surely they would still stop for red lights, traffic jams, etc, right? its not like they are given a pass to break traffic law right?

reply to post by pryingopen3rdeye


No... Not what I meant. I personally followed behind one I have bad pics of here somewhere to watch them drive right past an open 'all must enter' scale house, which confirmed that part of what I'd been told. I also understand anything means what might appear to be police that just pop up with lights. I believe these guys have contact numbers (or a panic button one company has on the dash) to get the attention of their watchers if someone else wants them to stop.

So not being a hazard to public safety by any means...just not quite under the same set of rules for that trip.

I live around the Champaign, IL area and lately I've noticed huge convoys of semi trucks ( ten or more ) going down our main streets at night, usually around 8pm - 10pm. It's happened at least once a month that I've seen, since around November of last year, and I've never seen a convoy of trucks so it was suspicious. Do commercial companies like yours do this, or are they military convoys of some sort?

S&F OP! I cannot believe other truckers members (surely there are more) have not brought this to our attention before. That's extremely eerie. I bet that shipment right there is one you may have never seen the light of day again had you snuck a peek.

It makes sense to me, nobody ever thinks twice when they see a semi on the highway. A train loaded up with military hardware is a different story and people love to film it.

Come to think of it, like Wrabbit said. I have also personally seen semi trucks go right by those 'all must stop' stations. In fact I see it quite often, I always figured the trucker was just late lol.

I drove for a few years and hauled some Govt. stuff but never had those sort of conditions ...While I did for 4 years not have to stop at Hyw scales because it was a mail truck ,there were other local trucks that would go by the scales . In those cases the guy usually knew the fella in the scales ...more of a local buddy ...

If it's nuclear, the government has a fleet of 18 wheelers that it runs. They're unmarked. Sort of.

500 pounds of gold would be equal to over $8 million dollars.

500 pounds of coc aine would be worth around $4 million dollars.

One more idea:

Security concerns after 500 pounds of still-missing explosives stolen from federal bunker. Mighty interesting the government spends millions frisking old ladies and children at airports, then leaves explosives around where they can evidently be easily stolen. We wonder if the Obama administration set this up on purpose in the hopes some white, Christian, Republican, Tea Party members would steal it so they can offset the Muslim bombers in Boston and have another excuse to further infringe upon everyone’s rights? Yeah, we know we sound like conspiracy kooks, but considering the BS emanating from the Obama Administration (think Benghazi) we have to wonder.

www.ihatethemedia.com...

reply to post by tonyb1968


Sorry . . . however . . . GIVEN THAT

ALL electricity based communications have been closely monitored by literally acres of computers for more than 40 years . . .

I think that posting such a narrative is fool-hardy and quite potentially hazardous to your health and/or job.

There's a time to risk such things . . . I'm skeptical that this incident was that time.

It might of been a decoy, go through all the effort in public so if someones watching it looks legitimate but the real stuff had left an hour before from another place and if anyone had hijacked you all they would of had was 500lb of junk neatly wrapped up as i'd imagine if it was really important they'd take a lot more care of it than giving it to two unknown persons but saying that we Brits did send the worlds largest diamond by normal parcel post back to England while running a fully armed guard on the ship that was reported to be carrying it

reply to post by tonyb1968




So you are telling us that you did not get to physically see what was loaded onto your truck ?

Aside from the eerie security measures that were taken on this load, did you get paid a
different rate for hauling this "special load" ? Or was pay the same ?

Do you remember what the codes on the BOL were ? What NMFC code was used ?

Did you deliver your load within the US ?

Most people don't think about this type of stuff b/c they are not directly involved in
the trucking industry...so the thought of security loads being hauled would not cross
their minds. This was an interesting read. Thanks for sharing.

leolady

reply to post by leolady


When i used to work in air cargo, we got paid the same whatever we were loading!

Could be food, animals, supplys for afganistan, toxic chemicals, all paid the same, minimum wage!

How big would 500 pounds of cash be?
Drug trade has to move its cash about!

I don't care if it's fake or not. It's an exciting story. I think it would be really nice to get a job doing that kind of work. You may never know what you hauled. Maybe it was a weapon that will later be used in the next world war or maybe you hauled something that could be used against you someday. No matter what it was it sounds really interesting. Keep us updated.

Maybe the cargo from the missing plane, find the cargo and the plane may be around also. Ya never know.

reply to post by tonyb1968


Most of the scary high tech stuff is delivered underground through tunnels.
I don't even know if they truck or train spent fuel from nuke plants anymore.
There is a whole new world going on underground, they've been digging for more then 50 years now.

Did you ask them if you were going to get paid extra for it?
Hush money is the best kind of money, untaxable and untraceable!