Maine State Police say that they have seized multiple trucks from a trucking company after it allegedly failed to pay tolls to the Maine Turnpike Authority for three years.
According to a December 6 Facebook post, Maine State Police seized a quarter of the trucks in the fleet of Rhode Island-based trucking company Commodity Haulers Express because they say that the company owes $75,000 in unpaid tolls.
From a press release from Maine troopers:
State Police seized five tractor trailers today – all owned by the same company which owes about $75,000 in unpaid tolls to the Maine Turnpike Authority. The State Police Commercial Vehicle Unit impounded five tractor trailers owned and operated by Commodity Haulers Express of North Kingston, Rhode Island. The truck company is facing felony theft of services charges after racking up approximately $75,000 in unpaid toll debt over the past three years.
Last month, State Police Corporal Chris Rogers was asked to investigate a toll evasion case by the Maine Turnpike Authority. The Turnpike Authority reported that Commodity Haulers Express, which employs a fleet of approximately 20 trucks, had amassed an unpaid toll fare bill of approximately $75,000 over a three-year period utilizing 12 different tractor trailer trucks. The company had been notified of the unpaid bill multiple times by the Turnpike Authority. and their right to operate their vehicles in Maine had been suspended by the Maine Bureau of Motor Vehicles.
Cpl. Rogers conducted surveillance and created a timeline of when the offending trucks were entering and leaving Maine. This morning, Troopers located five of the offending trucks. One was stopped southbound in York along the Maine Turnpike and the four others were stopped along Route 122 in Poland. The trucking company hauls Poland Spring Water. The water company was not aware or involved in the unpaid tolls.
The tolls owed from the five trucks seized today was about $42,000.
2007 Freightliner RI AP 33719 – $12822.50
1999 Freightliner RI AP 34622 – $4815
2007 Freightliner RI AP 30192 – $12934.75
2006 Freightliner RI AP 33718 – $10306.50
2000 Freightliner RI AP 22268 – $670The trucks were towed to Copp Motors in Cumberland where they will remain until the toll bills have been paid.