ELLISVILLE – A partnership with the Regional Counterdrug Training Academy located at the Meridian Naval Airbase, Laurel’s Diamondback Commercial Vehicle Training and Truckworx Kenworth of Laurel, are making it easier for law enforcement to interrupt the flow of drug and human trafficking, and other criminal activity with hands-on training hosted at Jones College. Officers from Wayne County, Jones County, Forrest County, Meridian, the Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics and the Highway Patrol spent three days learning about the commercial trucking industry and how criminals are exploiting it. Knowing what to look for can prevent drugs like fentanyl from infiltrating the U.S. border and even small communities in the Pine Belt, according to Ray Herndon, former law enforcement, trucker and owner of Diamondback CMV Training.
“We like to sponsor training like this for local and state law enforcement officers to come tuition-free thanks to the RCTA. It’s designed to educate the officers on the transportation industry, how it operates daily, and how common criminal enterprises can infiltrate that industry unknowingly to the trucking industry. Officers don’t get a lot of training on commercial vehicle searches, and we have years of experience in both trucking and in law enforcement that can help these officers and communities,” said Herndon.
Additionally, Herndon explained the terrorist threat that could accompany some of these large vehicles is real. The Oklahoma City bomber in 1995, used about a 5000-pound explosive device and a moving truck. Diamondback offers training nationwide about 25 times a year and is based in Laurel.
“It means the world to us to get to train our people here at home. We use our industry knowledge to train these officers on the things to look for without delaying truck drivers for long periods of time while they search,” said Herndon. “It’s not these officers’ goal to hold up the transportation industry or to cause undue time delays, as much as it is to be able to recognize when something is not right, or what doesn’t belong when they see it.”
The next RCTA course will focus on roadside interview techniques held on Friday, September 27, at Jones College.