Swapped semi trailer VIN at Florida inspection station leads to discovery of ‘fraud and felonies’

Officers at an agricultural inspection station in Florida arrested a man on felony charges after a tampered trailer Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) led to the discovery of tools for credit card fraud.

On February 20, agents with the Office of Agricultural Law Enforcement (OALE) conducted a routine inspection on “a Volvo tractor pulling what appeared to be a 2009 utility refrigerated trailer.”

“Upon closer examination, it was revealed that the trailer was actually a 2022 model with a swapped VIN. The trailer, valued at approximately $65,000, had been tampered with, and its true ownership remains under investigation,” OALE said.

Following the discovery of the swapped VIN, a “vehicle inventory uncovered several incriminating items, including a card reader/encoder, multiple suspected fraudulent credit cards, three iPhones, a laptop, and a tube of sealant used to alter credit cards.”

Miguel Perez Bacallao, 41, of Miami, Florida, was arrested and booked into Hamilton County Jail on felony charges.

OALE operates 23 agricultural inspection stations on 19 highways going into and out of Florida. The agency investigates crimes involving agriculture and those occurring on property owned or operated by the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.