Union Pacific Sued for Drug Smuggling

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The U.S. Department of Justice filed lawsuits against Union Pacific Railroad Co. this week, seeking $37 million in damages from the rail company for not stopping drug smuggling on its trains. Between 2001 and 2006, customs officials on at least 38 occasions found marijuana or cocaine in rail cars at the U.S.-Mexico border, the suit said. About two tons of marijuana was seized, along with about 117 kilograms of cocaine.

In July, Union Pacific filed a lawsuit of its own against the federal government over the fines and seizure of six rail cars. Donna Kush, a spokeswoman for Union Pacific told the San Diego Union-Tribune the company has no control over its railroad cars in Mexico, and can’t take them over until U.S. customs release them at the border. Union Pacific has a 26 percent ownership stake in Ferromex, a Mexican railroad, which was what the rail cars operated under when they were seized with drugs. Kush said Union Pacific can’t force inspections on its Mexican partner.

The Department of Homeland Security wants the company to hire a security contractor to work with Ferromex, but Kush told the Los Angeles Times that such a team would be dangerous because it wouldn’t be allowed to carry arms and would be powerless against “vicious drug gangs.”

It’s strange that Union Pacific, with a net income of $2.3 billion, can’t find a way to stop drug smuggling before its train cars reach the United States – or create a better partnership with Ferromex so that the Mexican rail company will. I don’t buy the company line about how its hands are tied – their cars are being used to smuggle cocaine and marijuana! How much worse publicity can a company get?

Union Pacific is a well-known company with too much at stake to be a passive drug mule for Mexican cartels. Let’s hope the company wakes up to the fact that this is a public relations nightmare and works with its partners south of the border to create solutions rather than more roadblocks.

Tags: Car, Union Pacific, Public Relations, Marketing, Corporate Communications, Barbara E. Hernandez

Bay Area resident and award-winning business journalist Barbara E. Hernandez has covered tourism, real estate and personal finance. Her clients include the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, San Francisco Chronicle and Washington Post.

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1

Galleon115

03/22/09 | Report as spam

RE: Union Pacific Sued for Drug Smuggling

I think that it is more strange that the US Govt, with its ability to print one trillion $ out of thin air, cannot find its own resources and now wants to sue a private company and compel it to perform a job that the Feds were supposed to be doing all along. Where is the tax money for Customs going? Of course, drug smuggling up from Mexico will not stop until drugs are legalized in the US.
2

barbara e hernandez

03/22/09 | Report as spam

RE: Union Pacific Sued for Drug Smuggling

That may be, but Union Pacific has to come up with a better company line, don't you think?
3

progreen82

03/23/09 | Report as spam

RE: Union Pacific Sued for Drug Smuggling

If the U.S. wants to stop drugs aboard U.P. trains - the U.S. needs to inspect them. How do you sue a private company for drugs aboard its trains when the U.S. has let 15,000,000 illegals in from doing nothing, the INS still does not deport even 1% of the illegals it comes across and immigration is another word for "anyone from countries other than South America - please proceed to the more complex and difficult processing line".
4

aahpat

03/23/09 | Report as spam

RE: Union Pacific Sued for Drug Smuggling

If the government wants to actually control the drugs
coming up from Mexico then the government should
forsake the prohibition policy that is essentially
government imposed lawlessness and anarchy. And
instead adopt a legalization, regulation and licensing
control program for distribution of drugs.

Regulation and licensing are controls.

Prohibition simply hands the distribution, and its
profits, over to criminals, cartels and terrorists.

If so much drugs can get across our borders BECAUSE
of the lawless anarchy of prohibition, how many deadly
WMD's can get across our border?

The anarchy of this drug war policy is giving "aid and
comfort" to America's enemies.

NO MORE DRUG WAR!
NO MORE DRUG WAR!
NO MORE DRUG WAR!
5

aLEAPahead

03/23/09 | Report as spam

RE: Union Pacific Sued for Drug Smuggling

This is a pretty silly article with an obvious biased slant against Union Pacific. This is not, nor will it ever be a "public relations nightmare" for the railroad. It's a shame that UP has to waste money defending such frivolous action.

Customs is responsible for smuggling prevention, not UP. Of the many billions of dollars the federal government wastes on their drug war witch-hunt, they are completely unable to control anything, much less border smuggling. Now the author of this article is suggesting that UP throw away their net profit down this same rat hole. UP could waste $2 billion annually and the smuggling would still be there. What a horrible allocation of resources, which would have to be approved by the UP board of directors anyway.

More and more the public awareness is increasing as to what a terribly insane and destructive policy that prohibition is.

leap.cc - Law Enforcement Against Prohibition