Illegal Reproductions Move Beyond Handbags and Electronics
While we are all aware you can head down to Canal Street in Chinatown and pick up some fake designer bags and other such knock-offs, the most recent item to be knocked-off are apparently delivery trucks. Now I am guessing there is not a large market for knocked-off delivery trucks unless you are running drugs, trafficking illegal immigrants or doing something equally as nefarious and illegal.
Apparently Wal-mart, FedEx, Direct TV and even the US Border Patrol are the targets of truck cloning. Basically, ‘bad guys’ are creating trucks that are essentially duplicated company vans and trucks in hopes that they will look less suspicious traveling on highways and across borders then, say, an old rusty white van with blacked-out windows. Apparently this is a great way to transport contraband, but there is also a concern (at least according to ABC News and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement) that these vehicles might gain access to places they shouldn’t be: “Termed ‘cloned’ vehicles, the report also warns that terrorists could use the same fake trucks to gain access to secure areas with hidden weapons.”
Yes, that report came from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. Now, it would seem to me that if you are concerned that cloned vehicles might be able to get into areas where there are secret weapons, shouldn’t there be tighter security on these areas? I don’t know, maybe an ID check or something? (Also, let’s consider that if ‘bad guys’ are getting into areas with ‘hidden weapons’ maybe a better job needs to be done in hiding the). Who the hell is waving the Direct TV truck through to the gates of the hidden weapon depot anyway?
While I get that this is a problem, I also get the feeling that it is being sensationalized a bit, maybe due to pressure from companies like Wal-mart, FedEx and Direct TV who don’t want to hear on the news that “a terrorist driving a ________ (pick your company) truck drove a load of explosives into the __________ (pick you important location) causing _______ (a large number) of deaths and $________ (pick another large number) worth of damage.”
