Trucker jailed in Indiana after allegedly stealing $2.85M tungsten shipment bound for Japan

A truck driver has been jailed in Indiana after allegedly stealing a $2.85 million shipment of tungsten oxide powder bound for Mitsubishi Materials Corp. in Japan. Deepak Kumar, 31, was arrested on June 27 while driving a 40,000-pound cargo along Interstate 70 near Greenfield, Indiana. Police were tipped off about the stolen load, which was originally picked up from Global Tungsten & Powders in North Towanda Township, Pennsylvania, on June 25. Kumar allegedly used fake documents to secure the shipment, which was intended for advanced industrial uses, including next-generation batteries and defense industry materials. The tungsten powder was recovered from his trailer in large cardboard boxes on pallets and handed over to Mitsubishi Materials. Kumar faces four criminal charges in Pennsylvania, including theft of valuable metal, forgery, and criminal conversion. Indiana charges were dismissed on July 1 as Kumar awaits extradition to Pennsylvania, where the state police’s criminal investigation remains active. Kumar, an immigrant from India residing in Fresno, California, was held in the 446-inmate Hancock County Jail. Neither Global Tungsten & Powders nor Mitsubishi Materials U.S.A. Corp. responded to inquiries about the theft by press time.