Oscar Heist Highlights Age-Old Problem

March 27, 2000 9:25 AM, EST

The heist of the Oscar statues from a Roadway Express facility in California recently put the spotlight on cargo theft, but transportation industry officials know this is not a new problem.

The California Highway Patrol estimates that cargo theft costs the state more than $10 billion a year.

To help combat the problem, the California Trucking Association is backing state legislation that would raise yearly trucking fees in order to fund police efforts to thwart truck thieves.

The statuettes went missing March 10 from a Roadway terminal in Bell, Calif. The gold-plated awards were found March 19 in a trash bin in Los Angeles.

For the full story, see the Mar. 27 print edition of Transport Topics. Subscribe today.