The HGV driver was transporting the copper load to several automotive firms in South Wales and stopped in a lay-by off the A40 in Ross-on-Wye at approximately 5.10pm. He was approached by two men from a white Transit van which stopped in the area behind him which is used as a VOSA inspection site.

A replica of red trailer stolen by thieves.

Without warning, the two men bundled the driver into the van and drove off. He was driven to a remote spot near Hambridge in Worcestershire and left at the side of the road. He was found unharmed by police just after 7.30pm.

Witnesses are being sought by West Mercia Police, and anyone with any information is asked to contact Crimestoppers on 0800555111.

However its disgusting to see how some can take advantage of such serious cases to benefit their own greed. I refer to 47-year old trucker Brian Fogg who was last week jailed for five and a half years for faking a £1m hijack.  He claimed that four people impersonating VOSA officers had threatened him at knifepoint on the M53 in Cheshire.

The Freight Transport Association (FTA) warns:

"Truck crime is getting worse and the criminals are getting craftier and more violent. We have even heard stories of crooks injecting sleep inducing gas through the night heaters of parked up trucks so they can render drivers helpless while they break in to their cabs."

This is a very real and concerning issue, thieves are willing to use violence and nasty tactics to get what they want. Have you heard of any extreme freight crime incidents? Or do you have any advice you could offer vulnerable driver?  

This haul is the first of its kind I have personally written about, and its strikes me as rather frightening, because inevitably it's fuelling the gun crime epidemic currently circulating the UK.

Where are the weapons coming from and who is ordering them? All we know in this case it that 48-year old driver, Vitalijus Tauskela, a Lithuanian national, has been charged with attempted smuggling. He was remanded in custody to appear at Dover Magistrates Court on 10 December.

On the same date, 53-year old Lithuanian HGV driver Viktor Maksimov will appear before Dover magistrates for committal proceedings. He has been charged with attempting to smuggle £440,000 worth of cocaine through the Port Of Ramsgate.

These hauls are worth big bucks, but undoubtedly they will cost the UK in terms of lives!

The picture below shows a cut tilt cord, and in this incident the cord had been cut and re-fastened with a pin and superglue.

Tilt cord cut by stowaways breaking an entry into a lorry.

I reported in October that the UKBA snapped up more than £75,000 (during one crackdown) in overdue fines from hauliers caught harbouring stowaways.

"Since January this year we have stopped over 27,900 individual attempts to cross the channel illegally and searched over 920,000 vehicles," says Tom Dowdall, director of border force European operations.

Such stats suggest many HGV drivers have found themselves unintentionally harbouring stowaways, and considering tilt cord is recommended by the UKBA, it is pretty disheartening to come to the same continual conclusion; clandestines are willing to do just about anything to get into the UK, and there is only so much a driver can do to stop it.

UK Border Agency (UKBA) officers discovered the 11kg haul on 4 November hidden under a mattress in Maksimov's cab. The truck has arrived on a ferry from Ostend, Belgium.

Not to make a mockery of such a serious issue, but I thought it might be an interesting experiment to guess how many years the accused may get, if any.

I seem to be writing about more and more cases of drug smuggling, although sentencing has varied:

• Kent-based driver jailed for seven years for smuggling £89,000 worth of cocaine into the UK.
• 31 years for Merseyside men who hid £3m of heroin in bacon van.
• Cannabis transporter jailed for six years.

We are yet to hear whether Maksimov will plead guilty, but I wonder how serious a problem drug smuggling is in the haulage sector? Do you think people do it to make a quick buck, or greed or perhaps the belief that it's easy to get away with?

Any thoughts I want to hear, and as a random guess, I would wager the accused gets four years. What do you think??

Thankfully he could not start the HGV but he did cause damage to the vehicle which had been hired from builders merchant Travis Perkins.

At Stroud Magistrates' Court on 20 October, Burgess, of Reservoir Close, Stroud, admitted:

"I was drunk at the time so I can't really remember what happened."

At aged 19 he is no kid and in my opinion shouldn't play on acting like one. Merely a few years older than him myself, such an excuse I must confess has been used to justify a horrendous Madonna rendition at my local, or maybe to play down why after sinking several vinos, telling a complete stranger my woes last night felt like a good idea at the time; but come on, stealing a truck?

He was fined £150 and ordered to pay £179.41 compensation to Travis Perkins. He was also ordered to pay £70 costs and a £15 victim surcharge.

Other cases of wreckless incidents include:

Investigations by HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) led to 41-year old Southport-based Darren Hunter who had masterminded the trip, and he pleaded guilty to being involved in the scandalous plot.

Tasker and Hunter were sentenced to 18 and 13 years respectively for knowingly importing heroin.

Packets of herion found in  van load of bacon.

The van Philip Tasker was driving which had £3m worth of heroin inside.

It is rather concerning that of the 62.62kg of heroin seized, 24.11kg of it was 100% pure, which begs the question what other nasty substances could the product be made up of. I shudder to think.

HMRC assistant director of criminal investigation, Malcolm Bragg says:

"This dangerous Class A drug devastates lives and communities, as it is always linked to wider criminality."

Just why do people do this? Surely the big bucks will be made by the dealer who distributes in the UK, and not the HGV driver who could end up paying the price with a prison stretch.

Has anyone in your company been caught transporting dodgy goods into the UK and what are the real motives? Is it the necessity to desperately make money... or is it the belief that nine time out of 10 dodgy dealings will go undetected? I want to hear your thoughts...