Citrex Transportes, the owner of the truck that stopped Rodoanel Mario Cobas over a false bomb threat this Wednesday morning (12th), said in a statement that the 52-year-old driver had properly complied with all the necessary standards during his journey from Peru to the company’s headquarters, São Bernardo do Campo, with explosives.
“We note that the driver duly complied with all legal and safety procedures, in particular the information regarding rest and travel times, as well as the appropriate speed obtained through the vehicle’s electronic monitoring service,” the company stressed, confirming that the truck was empty.
Citrex also praised the efforts made by authorities in the incident and in assisting the driver, saying, “We remain infinitely focused on providing care for our employees who are being treated for a medical condition and are on the road to recovery.”
After receiving treatment at the Itapecerica da Serra General Hospital, the driver gave a statement to the civil police, giving details of the incident.
He said he had brought a large amount of explosives to Peru and was returning home in an empty truck. The driver said he was chased by two vehicles when he arrived at the 41km mark of the ring road after a rock was thrown at the windshield of his trailer and police found debris.
After four kilometers, the truck was blocked and six armed men got out of the vehicle, according to the report. Three of them entered the vehicle, tied up the driver, and placed him on the back bed of the truck. At that moment, the driver said he heard the perpetrators say the truck would be used to transport the weapons inside the vehicle to Rio de Janeiro.
After a while, a company representative called and the criminals released the driver to talk. The man told police that he fought with the men and tried to run away. However, he is attacked by them, tied up and placed next to a fake bomb.
The driver also emphasized that the truck was placed in the highway lane by one of the criminals, who, according to him, had no experience driving this type of vehicle. The reason they left the vehicle was a remote shutdown conducted by the company.
According to the incident report: sheet If he had had access, the driver would have called the company around 5:30 a.m. and told them he had been kidnapped and that a bomb had been placed on his body inside the truck. He also said other drivers at the company would find themselves in the same situation. However, a company representative denied this other matter.
Police Chief Marcio Frouette said they were investigating information that the driver had his hands tied but was partially freed by another truck driver who helped him. Analyze and confirm security camera footage.
As a result of this incident, Rodanelle was completely closed from 5 a.m. to approximately 10:10 a.m. During that time, the driver spent at least four hours with his hands tied and a fake bomb placed near the passenger seat. He was finally rescued at 9:15 a.m. by rescue workers from SPMar, the concession company that manages Rodoanelle.
Gate denied that it was not an explosive, but rather a man-made object made of cardboard tubes and wire. The materials were seized and sent for forensic examination.
The truck was first parked on the side of the road and then removed by company employees, before being taken to a police station.
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