Hijackers seize UPS big rig, kidnap its driver at gunpoint and steal hundreds of packages in Atlanta

Armed hijackers ambushed a UPS driver, tied him up and ransacked his 18-wheeler tractor-trailer in Atlanta early Monday.

According to the Atlanta Police Department, at around 9.15am police responded to the area of Donald Lee Hollowell Parkway NW and Bankhead Court NW on a kidnapping report.

Officers were met by the driver of the stolen UPS big rig, who was unharmed, and his colleagues.

A subsequent investigation has uncovered that the brazen heist took place after the driver had left a UPS facility laden with packages to deliver.  

The driver (pictured in his uniform above) was found tied up in the back of his truck nearly six hours later

At around 3.30am, the truck stopped at a traffic light, where an armed man jumped into cab, pointed a gun at the driver’s head and forced him to head down a dirt road to an abandoned lot on Bankhead Court. 

Once there, the kidnapper and several accomplices restrained the UPS driver’s hands with zipties and proceeded to steal about a quarter of the cargo from the tractor-trailer, which they then transferred to their own truck waiting nearby, reported WSB-TV.

The bandits then got into their vehicle and drove off with their loot, leaving the kidnapping victim behind.  

It was not until nearly six hour later, when the cargo was reported as overdue at its destination, that UPS used its GPS to track the missing big rig to the Bankhead Court area. 

Police say the hijackers stole about a quarter of the packages and transferred them to their own truck before fleeing the scene with their loot 

The UPS driver (far left) complied with the bandits’ demands and was unharmed 

UPS workers opened the trailer and found the driver tied up inside. 

The company issued a statement, saying it was thankful that its driver was not hurt. 

Atlanta police spokesperson Jarius Daugherty praised the driver for following the hijackers’ commands to preserve his life.

‘Our recommendation in a situation like this is to comply. There’s no amount of property out there worth possibly having your life taken,’ Daugherty told 11Alive. 

Police are now poring over surveillance video from the area to try and track down the thieves.