Published: September 13, 2006 04:05 pm      

Multiple arrests and seizures of stolen goods at I-10 Interdiction Station

On Wednesday, Aug. 30, officers at the westbound I-10 Interdiction Station in Suwannee County searched a tractor-trailer heading out of Florida and determined that the driver was hauling four flat-screen plasma television sets and an assortment of power tools purchased in Broward County with a stolen credit card. The suspect, Wilfredo Dominguez, was charged with grand theft and dealing in stolen property. He was booked into the Suwannee County Jail.

Officers at the eastbound I-10 Interdiction Station in Suwannee County searched a tractor-trailer heading for Miami because of irregularities in its bill of lading on Friday, Sept. 1. It was hauling $100,000 in over the counter medications, which were reported stolen from Cold Springs, Nev., three weeks ago. The two occupants of the vehicle are cooperating with the investigation and have not yet been charged with a criminal offense.

“Our law enforcement officers are continuing to uncover stolen goods and other contraband at our interdiction stations,” Florida Agriculture and Consumer Services Commissioner Charles H. Bronson said. “They have become an indispensable part of Florida’s homeland security efforts.

The arrests and seizures cap a busy three-year stretch at the department’s 23 interdiction stations, where officers have recovered an estimated $23 million in drugs, stolen goods and contraband. Individual seizures have included a $7 million cocaine shipment, $600,000 in stolen medicines, 60 large-screen televisions and a truckload pilfered computer chassis.