An Indiana trucker told police he was transporting an empty trailer from Memphis to Indianapolis. A commercial vehicle inspection uncovered 126 kilograms, or about 277 pounds, of cocaine. Police found the drugs inside the tractor’s sleeper compartment, not inside the trailer. Indiana State Police estimated the narcotics carried a street value of approximately $3.8 million.
The Indiana State Police Criminal Interdiction Unit stopped the vehicle on eastbound Interstate 70 in Putnam County. Trooper Yan J. Dravigne noticed expired International Fuel Tax Agreement decals on the blue Freightliner. He initiated a motor carrier compliance inspection near mile marker 31 around 5:07 p.m. Police identified Harpreet Singh of Greenwood, Indiana, as the driver.
The probable cause affidavit provides additional details about Singh’s trip before the discovery. Singh reported traveling from Indianapolis using a different tractor-trailer before arriving in Memphis, Tennessee. He told Dravigne that company management instructed him to retrieve equipment at an unknown gas station. Singh told Dravigne that management instructed him to drive the tractor-trailer back to Indianapolis.
Company disputes Memphis pickup account
Singh identified his employer as “VEIN STUDIO LLC” and provided USDOT number 4242807, according to the affidavit. Federal motor carrier records associate that number with IN VEIN STUDIOS LLC of Decatur, Alabama. Company officer Anuj Kumar provided FreightWaves with a different account of the tractor’s movements. He says IN VEIN owns the tractor and denies involvement in the drug transportation.
Kumar says the tractor broke down in Oklahoma City on Aug. 23. IN VEIN left that vehicle and a loaded reefer trailer at a repair facility. Another company driver retrieved the loaded trailer the following day, according to Kumar. Singh later traveled to Oklahoma City to collect the repaired tractor, Kumar reports.
IN VEIN then arranged a power-only load toward Indiana, according to Kumar. He reports that management later instructed Singh to return bobtail, meaning without a trailer. “We did not provide him with that trailer,” Kumar wrote to FreightWaves. The company says it does not know where Singh obtained the trailer encountered by police.
The dispute over the trailer does not explain how cocaine entered the tractor. The affidavit places the suspected drugs inside the sleeper compartment, rather than its attached trailer. Kumar says IN VEIN owns that tractor and sent Singh to retrieve it after repairs. Court records do not establish when or how the narcotics entered the vehicle.
Singh also told police the tractor had spent approximately two weeks inside a repair shop. He attributed the mechanical problem to a rock entering the engine, according to the affidavit. That timeline generally overlaps with Kumar’s account of the tractor undergoing repairs. The available court records do not identify the repair facility.
The roadside examination uncovered additional compliance problems. Dravigne found an expired IFTA cab card after observing outdated decals before the stop. Singh told the trooper he did not know the license had expired. He also reported being unable to use an electronic logging device for hours-of-service records.
Dravigne contacted a towing company to impound the vehicle because of the IFTA violation. The trooper then conducted an inventory search inside the tractor cab. He found a blue duffel bag resting on the sleeper berth mattress. Inside were kilogram-sized packages wrapped in black duct tape.
Police find cocaine inside tractor sleeper
Dravigne’s previous drug investigations led him to suspect the bundles contained illegal narcotics. Police then conducted a probable cause search of the tractor cab. Investigators discovered additional packages concealed within storage around the sleeper berth. White powder inside the bundles presumptively tested positive for cocaine. Officers then took Singh into custody and transported him to the Putnam County Jail.
Prosecutors file two felony charges
Putnam County prosecutors filed formal charges against Singh on Sept. 8. They charged him with dealing in cocaine as a Level 2 felony. Prosecutors also filed a Level 3 felony count for possession. Charging documents identify approximately 277 pounds of cocaine in both counts. Singh is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.
Why It Matters
The seizure highlights how equipment custody can become critical during commercial vehicle investigations. Documented handoffs can help investigators determine who controlled a tractor before authorities discovered contraband inside it.
Click here for more articles on cargo theft and freight fraud by Phil Brink.
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