Trucker Alerts Police to Human Trafficking, Caged Kids
August 16, 2023 • From News/Media Release •
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A truck driver, identified as Michael by TCA, helped stop the human trafficking of children when he contacted police. - Photo: The Best Photo for All via Canva.com/TCA/HDT Illustration
A truck driver, identified as Michael by TCA, helped stop the human trafficking of children when he contacted police.



The Truckload Carriers Association has recognized one observant truck driver as a TCA Highway Angel for discovering, reporting, and following suspected human traffickers who had children caged in the back of a pickup truck.


To protect the driver’s identity, TCA has only identified him by his first name, Michael, and did not release his hometown or the exact location of the incident.

According to the association, Michael was at a dark rest stop just off I-10 around 1 a.m. June 18 in a border state. A white pickup truck with a tarp and cage pulled up in front of him and a woman got out of the truck and went around to the back of it.

Children in a Cage
“She raises the tarp, and there’s a padlock on this cage,” Michael said. “She takes the padlock off and opens it and out comes these three or four little girls. They didn’t pull all the kids out — they put the lock back on and they forced the kids into the restroom.”

Michael told TCA the little girls he saw were no older than 3 or 4 years old.

When the two adults and the children came back out of the bathroom, the driver of the pickup forced the girls back into the cage, locked it, and covered the cage in a tarp, according to Michael.

Alerting Police
Michael, a father of two, called the police and was able to walk around in the dark to read the truck’s license plate. In doing so, he was noticed by the adult occupants of the pickup.

FMCSA Launches Program to Combat Human Trafficking

The suspected human traffickers took off quickly in the truck, and Michael followed them.

“They got about two or three miles ahead of me, but I was on the phone with the dispatcher,” he said. “Next thing you know, the police pulled them over— cops came out of everywhere.”

Michael also pulled over and waited till the police were ready to speak with him to get his statement. Police told Michael that several of the children had been reported missing and that there were even more children in the cage.

“In the cage, there were hammocks with kids draped across the top, and the entire bottom of the cage was filled with children,” Michael said.

Police also told him for his own protection he should depart, in case anyone affiliated with the human traffickers was watching.

lawrenzoo:
Good day, Nairaland families. I would appreciate it if mature and responsible families in the house could enlighten me on this. My son is only 7 years and 4 months old, and I allow him and his 5 year old sister to do minor chores such as making their beds when they wake up, sweeping their rooms to some extent, taking their plates to the kitchen after eating, and brushing their teeth at night. However, there is one thing I frown upon in the house, "Sending a young guy of his age on street errands," but I discovered that my wife finds it so easy to do so.

Most times my wife would want to get simple stuff like detergent and so, she calls him which i do stop from happening most times since i am of a personal opinion that it is rather too unsafe for him and he should not be sent on an errand alone until he is at least 10years old and above.

Please i want to know if I am simply the one overreacting and too overprotective OR a child of that age should not be sent on an errand?