Hijackers seized a UPS big rig, kidnapping its driver and stealing an untold number of packages, during a brazen heist Tuesday in Atlanta, authorities said.
The attack unfolded at about 3:30 a.m. EST when the UPS truck was stopped at a traffic light at Fulton Industrial Blvd NW and Donald Lee Hollowell Parkway NW and a gunman got into the vehicle, police said.
That assailant then forced the UPS employee to drive to a secluded area near Hollowell and Bankhead Court NW where "the suspect, along with others, tied the victim up and stole cargo from the tractor trailer," according to an Atlanta police statement.
It wasn't until the 18-wheeler was reported overdue that the company used GPS to track down the truck and found "the driver, un-injured, inside the trailer" and called law enforcement at about 9:15 a.m., the police statement continued.
A representative of Atlanta-based UPS declined to say how much was stolen. But investigators told NBC affiliate WXIA-TV that less than a quarter of the load was taken.
"We are thankful that our driver is safe, and will defer questions to the investigating authorities," a company rep said in statement Wednesday.
Atlanta police Sgt. Jarius Daugherty said the driver wisely complied with all the suspects' demands.
"There's no amount of property out there worth possibly having your life taken," he told WXIA-TV.
