FBI probing theft of truck full of drugs

TEMPLE, Ga., July 16 (UPI) -- The FBI and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation say they are investigating the theft of a truck filled with nearly $8.8 million worth of pharmaceutical drugs.

Law enforcement agents Wednesday said among the medications stolen along with the tractor-trailer in Temple, Ga., were cold medicine and blood thinners, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.

GBI spokesman John Bankhead said last Friday's theft at a truck stop in Haralson County, Ga., was the second time a tractor-trailer was stolen from the site since May.

The driver of the truck stolen last week told authorities his $100,000 tractor-trailer and its valuable cargo disappeared after he stopped at the truck stop.

Investigators said the unidentified driver had locked the 2007 Peter Built truck after stopping.

GBI Director Vernon Keenan said Georgia is a prime location for individuals attempting to steal shipments of pharmaceutical drugs and electronics.

"There are organized gangs that are involved in cargo theft. Many of the thefts are of the high-end cargo," he told the Journal-Constitution.