43°
It didn't take long for a crackdown on toll evaders to snag two major violators, both of them at the Lincoln Tunnel -- and on the same day, no less.
Port Authority police stopped a New Jersey-based D. Rubio’s Express truck for having "unclear" license plates and found 1,811 "known unpaid violations," Spokeswoman Lenis Valens said.
Total unpaid tolls and fees: $214,000.
The driver also received three summonses for unclear plates (front and rear) and an expired diesel emissions test, Valens said.
Later that day, officers stopped another vehicle without a front plate, she said.
It turned out the driver owed $258,000 in tolls and fees from 3,865 recorded violations.
"We also found that he was previously stopped and issued summonses for no front plate and a damaged rear plate at the Lincoln Tunnel in January," Valens said.
The timing isn't coincidental.
Law enforcers on both sides of the Hudson River have begun pairing new tech with deeper and more widespread training to attack toll evaders.
Earlier this month, a massive campaign to identify and seize "ghost plate" vehicles began with 73 impounds, 282 summonses and eight arrests at the Lincoln Tunnel and George Washington and Triborough bridges.
In just one weekend, Port Authority police seized plates and vehicles from 30 motorists at the Lincoln and the GWB while issuing 142 summonses, sources there told Daily Voice.
READ MORE: Massive Crackdown On License Plate Fraud Begins At GWB, Lincoln Tunnel
Click here to follow Daily Voice Jersey City and receive free news updates.
