Police stop truck carrying missile launchers on Toronto-area highway
 A tractor-trailer sits on the side of a Toronto highway after being stopped by police on Friday. (CP/Christopher Williams) |
GREG BONNELL
TORONTO (CP) - One truck driver's confusion is to blame for a bizarre incident involving three police forces, the Canadian military and a tractor-trailer loaded with armoured vehicles bearing anti-tank missile launchers, police said Friday.
The shipment of army vehicles was scheduled to arrive Thursday in Montreal. But after being reported stolen, it was instead pulled over travelling westbound -the opposite direction of its destination - on a major Ontario highway.
"The military contracted a company to deliver some armoured personnel carriers to Montreal," said Peel Regional Police Const. Dameon Okposio.
"The driver was pre-occupied with some personal and family issues and got confused about the shipment date. That's where everything began to spiral out of control."
Officers from Peel and York regions, along with Ontario Provincial Police, followed the truck some 17 kilometres Friday after the trucking company reported it stolen when it didn't arrive in Montreal as scheduled.
The trailer was carrying two M113 armoured personnel carriers bearing Department of National Defence licence plates and loaded with ground-to-ground missile launchers.
"It's . . . used against tanks and other armoured personnel carriers," said Canadian Forces spokesman Major Daryl Morrell.
The vehicles, which carried no explosives[my bold], are considered surplus and were being moved to Montreal for storage when the driver went astray.
"Certainly we're going to be talking to the company about today's occurrences," said Morrell.
The army had contracted out the transport of the equipment to the Camlane Group, a private Toronto-area trucking company.
"(The driver) was supposed to have taken them to Montreal" on Thursday, said Const. Laurie Perks of York Region Police.
"The (Global Positioning Satellite) system showed that he wasn't in Montreal, so the owner of the truck reported it stolen."
Calls to the trucking company were not immediately returned.
When confronted by police on Highway 407, just northwest of Toronto, the driver pulled over without incident.
"There wasn't a pursuit," said Okposio, who added that additional police were called in as a precaution.
"No one was anticipating two small looking tanks to be travelling on the 407, so before they attempted to stop the vehicle they wanted to make sure there was going to be enough assistance there, in case something happened."
Okposio said the driver will not be charged.
"It's found that he had no criminal intent to deprive the armed forces of their equipment or do anything with them. It was just a matter of confusion and that matter has been resolved."