STOLEN TRUCK WAS FULL OF PAINKILLERS

The Loot Included OxyContin, Codeine, Opium, Morphine, Valium And Percocet.

LAKELAND -- Most of the prescription drugs taken in a truck hijacking early
Monday in Lakeland were painkillers that can bring the thieves a big payday
on the black market, Palm Beach sheriff's officials said Tuesday.

And, it was no random robbery. It's clear that the hijackers who pulled off
what appeared to be a precisely planned and executed theft knew exactly
what they were after, Palm Beach spokesman Paul Miller said.

Among the drugs taken were hydrocodeine, OxyContin, codeine, opium,
morphine, Valium and Percocet. Miller said that on the streets, the drugs
could be worth even more than the estimated value of $2 million to $3
million that authorities had initially placed on the haul.

The hijackers unloaded 2,100 red plastic containers from the truck.
Imprinted in white letters on the side of each container is "Cardinal" --
the name of the distribution company in Lakeland where the truck began its
route. Officials on Tuesday released photographs of the containers as they
sought help from the public in solving the crime.

Authorities also provided a few new details of the theft, including that
the hijackers stopped at an unknown site and used forklifts to unload the
containers. The empty truck was then driven to the Palm Beach County
location, where it was found Monday morning.

Truck driver Yaniel Leal of Hialeah began his route at Cardinal
Distribution, 2045 Interstate Drive, in North Lakeland off Kathleen Road.
Leal, a replacement driver for Consolidated Delivery and Logistics Inc. of
Miramar, picked up the load about 1:30 a.m.

He drove the tractor-trailer to the Dunkin Donuts at 1111 Bartow Road and
went inside, Palm Beach officials said.

He told investigators that when he came back and got in the truck, two men
who had hidden in the sleeping compartment confronted him. They taped his
hands and ankles, placed a hood over his head and put him in the truck's
sleeper.

After 30 minutes to an hour of driving, the men stopped for about 30
minutes and unloaded the containers with forklifts, Miller said.

The truck got back on the road, and about 4:30 a.m., the men left the
57-foot rig at a Marathon gas station off Interstate 95 outside Lake Worth.

Leal, 24, wasn't injured. Investigators interviewed him, and he was
released, Miller said.

Authorities have said they were investigating a link between the theft and
10 other tractor-trailers stolen recently in South Florida and Atlanta. In
some of those thefts, investigators said, it appeared the thieves targeted
trucks at random, without knowing the contents. Truckloads full of shrimp,
children's clothing and laundry detergent have been stolen.

Investigators said the Lakeland hijacking is different.

"They knew what was in there," Miller said.

Prescription-drug abuse is a big problem in South Florida. Prescription
drug-related deaths rose 71 percent in South Florida last year, according
to The Associated Press.