Overview
- Investigators tracked a semi with a Flock camera system and executed a search warrant on June 27 that found 10 pallets of tungsten oxide powder valued at $2,857,500 belonging to Mitsubishi Materials Corporation.
- Police arrested 31-year-old Deepak Kumar of Fresno during the stop after he presented three IDs, including a valid California commercial driver’s license, and prosecutors filed theft-related charges before he was placed in ICE custody.
- U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement lodged a detainer with the local jail and has initiated immigration proceedings while officials have said the Department of Homeland Security believes Kumar entered the country illegally and has prior fraud-related arrests.
- Tungsten oxide is a high-value industrial input used in armor-piercing rounds, advanced manufacturing and optics, which raises concerns about the theft of hazardous or sensitive materials in transit.
- The case has prompted political scrutiny of California’s practice of accepting federal Employment Authorization Documents to qualify drivers for CDLs and is likely to lead to review of state licensing rules, detainer handling by local jails, and the growing use of automated camera systems to locate stolen freight.