Nebraska deputies recover $250K stolen copper load 50 miles past Iowa destination

Lancaster County’s Criminal Interdiction Unit stopped a semi-truck around 2 p.m. on October 7 on Interstate 80 near Lincoln, according to the affidavit. Deputies saw the trailer leaning heavily after the load shifted toward the passenger side, the affidavit states. The driver, identified in the affidavit as 22-year-old Raman Pal of Tracy, California, could not provide vehicle registration, a bill of lading or basic freight details.

Deputies received consent to search the truck and trailer and found 11 pallets of copper wire weighing 43,937 pounds and two bolt cutters, according to the affidavit. A bill of lading found in the search listed Imperial Metal Group in Chicago as the pickup location and Lakeside Auto Recyclers in Carter Lake, Iowa, as the destination, the affidavit states. Court records identify Imperial Metal Group as the owner of the stolen copper. Lakeside Auto Recyclers told deputies the vehicle was off route while traveling westbound and that Nawab Xpress Inc. should not possess the load, according to the affidavit.

The affidavit states Get There Real Quick LLC should have delivered the shipment; FMCSA records list the Illinois carrier under USDOT 4381300 and MC 1717529. Pal’s truck displayed Nawab Xpress and USDOT 4172559, and FMCSA records list the California company as an interstate carrier with one power unit and one driver. Imperial Metal Group President Zach Spellman told deputies during the stop that the copper belonged to his company and was stolen because the correct carrier did not possess it, according to the affidavit. Spellman said the trailer lacked the load lock and seal Imperial required and that this was Imperial Metal Group’s fourth stolen metal load this year, with all four disappearing “in the same fashion,” according to the affidavit.

Court records show prosecutors charged Pal with criminal impersonation and theft by unlawful taking over $5,000, and deputies found two identification cards carrying different names inside the cab, one matching Pal’s actual California identification, according to the affidavit. The sheriff’s briefing said the combined value of Imperial Metal Group’s four stolen loads exceeded $1 million. Deputies placed the truck and trailer on a criminal hold after Pal’s arrest, according to the affidavit. For buyers, the affidavit’s account of a load past its listed destination, missing required security and conflicting carrier information shows a high-value shipment can keep moving without immediate detection.