CHILLICOTHE, Ohio — Authorities in southern Ohio are investigating a report that a truck driver allegedly accepted a bribe to transport undocumented cargo from the U.S.-Mexico border area to Chicago, raising suspicions of narcotics trafficking and prompting notifications to law enforcement agencies in multiple states.
Ross County sheriff’s deputies responded to a complaint at a logistics company on Lancaster Road around 3:18 p.m. on Jan. 22 after employees discovered additional boxes on a trailer that had been paid for exclusively to deliver truck switches from Hidalgo, Texas.
A traffic manager for the receiving company told deputies that an employee of the trucking company initially said the driver had not picked up any extra cargo. Later, the same employee reported that the driver admitted to receiving $1,500 from warehouse personnel in Hidalgo to haul the additional undocumented items to Chicago after completing the scheduled delivery in Chillicothe.
The driver reportedly became belligerent with company employees and left with the trailer around 10 a.m., according to the incident report written by the primary responding sergeant.
Deputies, suspecting the extra cargo likely contained narcotics, collected security camera screenshots showing a white truck and trailer belonging to a company identified as Aries Logistics. They contacted the Ohio State Highway Patrol, Illinois State Police, and Indiana State Police to share the information. Indiana authorities declined to accept the tip without a formal teletype from dispatch.
The trucking company later provided trailer tracking data showing the unit at a gas station in Champaign, Illinois, and Illinois State Police said they would send troopers to investigate the location.
Representatives of the trucking company contacted deputies to dispute the bribery allegation, stating the driver was a local operator and that a different driver had originally picked up the load. They described the contract as important and called the narcotics suspicion implausible.
An email from the trucking company included photographs of the extra cargo along with shipping documents for plastic granules being transported from Montgomery, Illinois, to Pharr, Texas — information that did not align with the truck’s actual route or the cargo observed.
The company owner and chief administrative officer were also present when deputies arrived.
The incident was forwarded to the US 23 Major Crimes Task Force for further investigation.
(Editor’s Note: All information was sourced directly from the official police report sent to the Guardian by the Ross County Sheriff’s Office, report number SO-P2600289.)