POLICE SEEKING THREE IN DRUG HIJACKING TRY

State Police are searching for at least three men who attempted to hijack a
tractor-trailer Friday night that police say was involved in drug
trafficking and carried close to 800 pounds of marijuana.

Ontario, Canada, residents Harpreet Chahal and Harjiven Cheema were
traveling in the tractor-trailer westbound on the Massachusetts Turnpike at
10:30 p.m., when a white van with the numbers "1995" printed on the side
signaled them to pull over, said Turnpike Authority spokesman Sean O' Neill.

Chahal and Cheema complied because they thought they were being pulled over
by police, O'Neill said.

But after they stopped, three masked men brandishing handguns got out of
the van. One climbed aboard the tractor-trailer and ordered the two
Canadian men to continue driving, while the other men followed in the van,
O'Neill and police said.

"They told the driver to drive west," said Major Michael Mucci. "They got
to interchange 12 and told the driver to take the exit."

When the driver failed to take the exit, a struggle for the steering wheel
ensued inside the tractor's cab, Mucci said. A motorist seeing the
tractor-trailer weaving on the highway used a cellphone to call State Police.

Inside the tractor-trailer, the struggle continued, and the vehicle went
off the road, coming to a stop about 50 feet into a wooded area in
Southborough.

The masked man quickly left the truck and boarded the van, which sped down
the turnpike, police were told.

Chahal and Cheema were arrested at the scene and are in State Police
custody. Charges are pending.

When police arrived at the scene, they saw that the tractor was damaged and
noticed suspicious packaging, said Trooper James Vines.

"A K-9 Unit was called in, and the substance appeared to be marijuana,"
Vines said.

The tractor trailer is registered to Ontario Inc., a business in Brampton,
Ontario. The incident is being investibated by the office of the Suffolk
district attorney.