Trucker who faked £1m hijack jailed

A Lancashire HGV driver who faked a knifepoint hijack has been jailed for five and a half years.

At Liverpool Crown Court on Friday 13 November, 47-year-old Brian Fogg, from Chorley, was found guilty of conspiring to steal a cigarette load worth £1m by faking a hijack.

Fogg, who worked for Preston-based Montgomery Transport, told police in August 2008 that four people impersonating VOSA officers had threatened him at knifepoint on the M53 in Cheshire. He claimed he was forced to drive to Birkenhead Docks where he was assaulted, bound and gagged.

The incident prompted a campaign by Cheshire Police to catch the offenders, including a roadside reconstruction and a £50,000 reward being offered.

However, once questioned by detectives, it became evident that Fogg's story was full of gaps.

"Fogg identified weaknesses in the freight haulage business and exploited them to fuel his own greed," says Detective Inspector Giles Orton of Cheshire Police. "His actions allowed his co-conspirators to distribute the stolen goods beyond trace."

For more on this story and others, visit The Lorry Crime Blog.