Missing Central Valley truckload of herbicide found 18 months later
Central Valley law enforcement authorities have recovered a truckload of potentially deadly agricultural chemicals that disappeared 18 months ago in Stockton.
The truck, containing $1 million worth of an agricultural herbicide representing half of the state's yearly supply, was recovered in a Sacramento storage unit Thursday. Officers from the San Joaquin County Sheriff’s Department Agriculture Crimes Task Force recovered the missing chemical, which is a highly concentrated weed-killer used on alfalfa fields, after the storage unit was abandoned and the contents put up for a lien sale. Potential purchasers of the unit's contents remembered law enforcement fliers regarding the theft and notified authorities.
The shipment of chemical, commercially known as Raptor, was imported from Central America in January 2006. It was stolen from the side of a Stockton highway shortly after arriving at the Port of Oakland.
Authorities, who speculate that the thieves left the shipment in the storage unit after finding the chemical hard to fence, are investigating the original renters of the storage unit, but no arrest have been made.
The herbicide is labeled as being 'slightly toxic' for skin exposure and 'moderately toxic' for inhalation. The chemical, which is heavily diluted for use on fields, has highly regulated safety procedures for handling and exposure, including handlers wearing breathing masks and chemical protection garments.
Alfalfa is widely grown in the San Joaquin Valley and is ranked as the area's highest valued field crop.
Missing Central Valley truckload of herbicide found 18 months later
