Law enforcement officials, concerned that the theft of a large quantity of chemicals and an empty tanker just days apart might be related, issued a nationwide alert to garner information on the still-missing items.
The theft of a large quantity of Rheocrete, a nitrogen-based compound that could be used to make improvised explosive devices, from Eastern Concrete Materials located in Bogota, N.J., and the unresolved theft of a tank trailer from the same area have kept officials concerned about the possibility of these items being used in a terrorist act. The Rheocrete, totaling about 3,300 gallons, was stolen sometime between March 31 and April 5 on two separate occasions. The gasoline tanker, which holds about 9,000 gallons, was stolen from TK Transport Terminal, Pennsauken, N.J., between April 8 and April 12, according to the nationwide alert.
The T-118 trailer was marked on the left and right sides with the name, TK Transport Inc., had a New Jersey tag T-852SC, and New Jersey Motor Fuel tag 15148. According to the nationwide alert, a freshly painted tanker was observed in the vicinity of Glassboro, NJ, with a Delaware registration of 773893. A check of the registration showed these tags as having been voluntarily surrendered Sept. 25, 2001. The Joint Terrorism Task Force, which includes federal, state and local investigators, is working on the case.
Officials don’t know if the thefts of the trailer and chemicals were related. "We have no idea of a connection," said Philadelphia FBI spokesperson Jerri Williams. "We haven’t found a common item to think they are related, but we are investigating." |