Shields UP!
Posted on 05/14/2002 7:26:38 PM PDT by mhking
U.S - MEXICAN BORDER - Let's get you caught up on the missing cyanide truck that seems to have slipped under the Homeland Security color-coded radar. The Sierra Time was among the first online publications to make this warning public. We need to make a slight clarification as to where the truck was stolen. The tractor-trailer, hauling a hundred drums of cyanide, was hijacked in the state of Hidalgo along Highway 85, north of Mexico City - not Texas. It's been missing since May 13, 2002. Border patrol agents along Texas and Mexico are now on high alert - We're talking LEVEL 1. Here's the description, according to the Texas Department of Public Safety, and verified by the FBI: White 2002 Kenworth Tractor Trailer No one on either side of the border has a clear idea where this potentially lethal cargo is, or what the hijackers plan to do with it. You can assume that if it was stolen, the plans probably aren't noble ones (unless you're on some Jihad mission). Another clarification we must make from the initial report is that, according to Mexican authorities, there were three gunmen - not two. There was no information given about the description of the men involved, but you can make an educated guess - and probably be correct. A truck stopped in the Northwest Monday was found with traces of explosives, and men holding Israeli passports. U.S. Customs agents say they are looking very carefully at everyone and everything crossing the border - including pedestrians, but experts in the trucking industry said that even with the heightened security, the deadly cargo could be disguised. Landstar Safety's Steve Gullekson told a local television station in Dallas, "They could transfer it to another truck, mark it as something else, and, unless they look suspicious, nobody's gonna look at it." A dose the size of a quarter can kill. Cyanide compounds usually have an almond-like smell, but if you get a whiff of this stuff, you're already in trouble. Most cargo shipments look like a white, granular or crystalline solid. Since we're talking 100 drums of this stuff (do the math), we'll need to go over its killing power. Inhalation, indigestion or with contact (skin or eyes) with vapors, dust or substances can cause severe injury, burns or death. Reaction with water or moist air will release toxic, corrosive, and flammable gases. It may also generate lots of heat that will increase the concentration of fumes in the air. Fire will produce irritating or corrosive gases. Source: CDC If this truck is located, and flips, detonates etc., look for the authorities to evacuate everything in at least a ½ mile radius. And you want to make sure you stay upwind from this stuff. It is a toxin and not a communicable illness. If contained in a truck, it can be disguised, but this is one truck that probably won't be stopping at a weigh station. Happy hunting, Texas - and stay safe. Downloadable white paper on Cyanide, which is classified as HAZ-MAT material, can be obtained here: http://www.sierratimes.com/downloads/g157.pdf (17K .pdf file) 18-Wheel Advisory Update
On Missing Cyanide Truck
By J.J. Johnson
Published 05. 14. 02 at 18:25 Sierra Time
Mexico license plate number 980CZ6.
Thank you
Also, what does this stuff weigh? Could it be handled safely and split into smaller containers?
If that is possible, they could split up and hot foot it over the mountains into California or Arizona - undetected.
I would like to make sure my local TV station (KUSI) is notified of this, but before I do I would like to have as much information as possible.
I'm sure if GPS tracking were available on this one we would have had it nailed by now...[sigh]
Who would steal cyanide? The only uses I know of for it are computer chip manufacture and well, killing people. Doesn't seem likely that a renagade computer chip manufacturer would buy it on the black market, so its a good bet that it will eventually will end up in the hands of terrorists unless law enforcement finds it first.
They were obviously Samoans or a radical splinter group from the isle of Tonga :)
They've been threatening to cripple Mexico's cyanide shipping industry for years and now they've gone into action. Luckily though, one Samoan is bigger than a single truck, with or without 100 drums of cyanide, so three of em ought to be fairly easy to spot. In fact, they should be looking for a Samoan with an 18 wheeler and two companions on his back trying to step over the border stations....just let em try and sneak past our crack units patrolling the border. ;)
Let's see - hijacked in Mexico by three men -- could they be MEXICAN??? Well that's what I guessed, so I'm probably correct.
Those folks at Sierra times are about as reliable as the folks at the Weekly World News - and also about as worthy of serious consideration.
A truck stopped in the Northwest Monday was found with traces of explosives, and men holding Israeli passports.
...since disavowed by the FBI. Some barney fife thought he had stumbled on a conspiracy of major proportions. The serious labs techs took a look at it and determined that that local yokels were wrong. Hey, terrorists with bombs do indeed go through the Northwest, but not this time. That won't stop the Sierra Times from publishing news about the explosive laden truck forever. They are a bunch of liars a ripoffs, little better than con men who steal from little old ladies.
The main use of it in bulk is for gold and silver mining. On another thread I believe someone mentioned that the cyanide on this truck was a solution, not "pure" cyanide, and jibes with it being used for mining. While an unpleasant pollutant, the crap on this truck is apparently not instant death for millions as the clueless hypemongers would have you believe.
Cyanide is common, cheap, and easy to get, and for a terrorist there are probably easier ways to get it than boosting a truck of cyanide solution in Mexico.
Trucks are stolen constantly in the US and I suspect the problem is even worse in Mexico. Quite possibly these banditos didn't even know what was in the drums.
Thats a relief!
The cargo may have been of no importance to the hijackers.I hope this is the case.
Also used in refining low-grade gold ore.
If this truck was highjacked by common criminals for resale, it's a sure bet the buyer is either a terrorist, or selling to a terrorist. Not necessarily a Jehadi, there are many kinds of scary people out there.
Or maybe it's someone who wants a nice truck cheap (And no, not to fill it with explosives and drive it into a building, either.)
Honestly, the odds this has anything to do with terrorists or terrorism is clearly less than say, 5%.
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