Fresno Trucker With California Commercial License Held By ICE After $2.85 Million Tungsten Theft

A Fresno truck driver is in ICE custody after Pennsylvania investigators say he disappeared with a tractor-trailer full of stolen industrial powder worth close to $3 million, according to the New York Post.

Deepak Kumar, 31, was hauling 10 pallets of tungsten oxide powder belonging to Mitsubishi Materials Corporation, valued at $2,857,500, the Post reported, citing arrest records. The shipment was scheduled for pickup on June 24 but was delayed a day. Company officials couldn't reach Kumar by Friday, June 26, and raised the alarm.

Investigators tracked the truck the next day using a Flock camera system, according to the Post's account of the arrest record. When officers caught up with Kumar, he presented three forms of identification: an invalid work visa, a fraudulent New York State license, and a valid California driver's license.

He was arrested on theft charges and later transferred to a facility in McFarland, California, where he remains in ICE custody, per the Post.

The California License Question

The part of this story generating the most political heat isn't the theft charge. It's the valid California commercial driver's license.

Kumar was able to legally obtain that CDL because he held a federal Employment Authorization Document, or EAD, during Gov. Gavin Newsom's administration, according to the Post. California policy allows migrants holding those federal work permits to qualify for commercial driver's licenses, even without permanent legal status.

Critics quoted in the Post's coverage argue this amounts to California functioning as a sanctuary state for truckers, turning a temporary federal work document into a credential for operating an 80,000-pound rig on public highways.

A commercial driver's license isn't a minor administrative formality. It certifies someone is qualified to operate heavy freight vehicles that can kill people in a crash, and it opens access to high-value cargo like the tungsten oxide shipment at the center of this case. If the underlying federal work authorization is temporary or contested, tying a long-haul trucking credential to it raises legitimate questions about vetting and accountability that go beyond immigration politics.

At the same time, precision matters on what's actually alleged here. Kumar is facing theft charges over the missing cargo. He is not, based on available reporting, charged with any crime tied to how he obtained his commercial license itself, which was reportedly issued through the standard EAD-to-CDL pathway that has existed under California policy. No indictment or formal charge specific to license fraud has been reported. The fraudulent document in his possession, according to the arrest record cited by the Post, was the New York State license, not the California one.

The case is a genuine data point for critics of California's CDL policy, but it is not evidence that the policy itself is illegal or that state officials broke any law by issuing the license under the rules as they existed. No investigation into California's licensing program has been announced in connection with this case.

What's Unproven

Why Kumar allegedly went dark on the delivery and diverted a nearly $3 million shipment is still an open question. The arrest record described in the Post's reporting establishes the theft allegation and the identification documents found on him, but does not detail a stated motive or confirm whether he acted alone.

It's also unclear from available reporting whether Kumar's EAD was still valid at the time of his arrest, given that he was also carrying what authorities describe as an invalid work visa. If the federal work authorization underlying his CDL had lapsed, that would be a separate compliance failure worth scrutiny, distinct from the theft charge itself.

What Happens Next

Kumar faces theft charges in Pennsylvania tied to the Mitsubishi Materials shipment. He remains in ICE custody in McFarland, California, meaning any criminal prosecution will likely proceed alongside separate federal immigration removal proceedings.

No statement from Gov. Newsom's office or the California DMV addressing this specific case has been reported. Whether California lawmakers move to revisit the EAD-to-CDL licensing pathway in light of this case is, for now, an open question with no legislative action reported as of this writing.