State, Boston police on alert for Penske trucks

By Travis Andersen, Globe Staff

Boston and State Police are on alert this morning, as commemorations of the 10th anniversary of Sept. 11 are underway around the state, after receiving a report of three men loading large buckets of unknown material into the back of a Penske truck Saturday night in Roxbury.

State Police spokesman David Procopio said authorities received a call at about 10:15 p.m. from someone who witnessed the men loading what appeared to be 55-gallon plastic containers into the truck along the 600 block of Columbus Avenue.

“If we do see Penske trucks, I think at this point we probably will be stopping them just as a precaution,” Procopio said.

He said troopers will stop all yellow, 18-foot Penske trucks and speak with the occupants to determine what they are doing with the vehicles.

A Penske spokesman said in an email that no company trucks have been reported stolen or missing today in the Boston area.

“Penske advises all its rental truck customers to use great care when parking and driving this weekend due to the increased public sensitivities and security issues around the 9/11 anniversary,” said spokesman Randolph P. Ryerson.

Police radio broadcasts indicated that at least one Penske truck making a delivery to a downtown building was stopped this morning without incident, though Procopio could not confirm that report.

Boston Police Officer Eddy Chrispin, a department spokesman, said he also had no information on specific stops, but confirmed that Boston officers have been directed to take the same measures as State Police.

The New York Times has reported that investigators are looking for a Budget rental van with Oklahoma plates that was stolen in Jersey City, N.J., on Aug. 21 by thieves who disabled the vehicle’s phone and alarm systems and tampered with security cameras.

Authorities were also seeking two dark-colored vans recently stolen from a company with a contract to do road work near Ground Zero, the Times reported.