Woman found hiding in truck at border crossing near Toowoomba

A woman has been hit with a hefty fine after she was nabbed attempting to enter Queensland illegally.

Police intercepted a prime mover crossing the border on Dumaresq Crossing Road at Texas around 11.40am yesterday, where they found a 51-year-old woman hiding behind the driver’s seat.

The woman and the 61-year-old male driver were each issued a $4003 infringement for failing to comply with the Queensland Border Direction and directed to leave the state.

This discovery comes as part of a major COVID-19 compliance operation targeting freight vehicles in Queensland.

More than 180 heavy vehicles were intercepted for compliance checks across three sites – Cunningham Highway at Goondiwindi; Leichardt Highway at Goondiwindi and New England Highway at Wyberba.

Officers also conducted heavy vehicle road safety patrols on major highways including intercepting vehicles for roadside breath and drug testing as part of yesterday’s operation.

Three drivers of heavy vehicles returned a positive drug test.

Acting Chief Superintendent Ray Rohweder said the operation indicated a satisfactory overall compliance of the Public Health Directions within the freight transport industry.

“Officers intercepted a significant number of vehicles and while there were some issues identified, the vast majority of truck drivers clearly understood their requirements to social distance and limit their contact others while in Queensland,” Acting Chief Superintendent Rohweder said.

“Unfortunately, some drivers were not complying with laws around drug driving, fatigue management and vehicle maintenance.”

The traffic operation, which has been planned for several weeks, followed an investigation in Mackay last week where 16 carnival operators from Victoria were fined $4003 after travelling around Queensland in breach of their Freight pass directions.