Thieves targeting freight trains make off with $3 million worth of Nikes

A gang of thieves has targeted freight trains passing through the desert regions of California and Arizona, carrying out a series of audacious thefts. According to officials and court documents, they stole over $3 million (approximately $2 million) worth of brand-new Nike sneakers, many of which were not yet available for sale.

According to a criminal complaint filed in Phoenix federal court, in one theft on January 13, suspects cut the air brake hoses of a BNSF freight train traveling through a remote area of Arizona and stole over 1,900 pairs of unreleased Nike sneakers, valued at over $694,000. Many of these shoes were Nigel Sylvester x Air Jordan 4s, expected to be released on March 14 with an estimated retail price of $355 per pair.

The Los Angeles Times reported that authorities are investigating at least 10 thefts targeting BNSF trains in the remote Mojave Desert since last March. Investigators stated that, with the exception of one case, the remaining cases involved the theft of Nike sneakers.

In the January 13 theft, 11 people were charged with possessing or receiving goods stolen from interstate commerce. All 11 pleaded not guilty and were ordered to be detained until trial. Ten of them are Mexican nationals illegally residing in the United States, and the other defendant is a Mexican citizen undergoing asylum proceedings in the United States.

The complaint states that the suspects in the January 13 theft were apprehended with the help of tracking devices inside some of the boxes. In another case, according to a complaint filed in Phoenix federal court, on November 20, a BNSF train made an emergency stop near Hackberry, Arizona, due to an air leak. Mohave County sheriff's deputies stopped a white van leaving the area and found approximately 180 pairs of unreleased Air Jordan 11 Retro Legend Blue sneakers inside, valued at $65,000.

According to federal criminal complaints, two other BNSF freight train thefts near Kingman and Seligman, Arizona, last year resulted in the theft of $965,000 worth of Nike sneakers and the arrest of eight people.

Verisk's CargoNet Vice President of Operations and Arizona Sheriff's Deputy Keith Lewis said that thieves typically scout merchandise along railway lines that parallel Interstate 40 by boarding slow-moving trains, such as when trains are switching tracks and opening containers. Lewis told the Times that thieves sometimes receive tips from accomplices working at warehouses or trucking companies who know about valuable cargo.

In another case, authorities said that a Mexican man controlling a train theft gang had scouts who would provide him with information about target trains, provide vehicles, pay gang fees, and facilitate the sale of stolen goods. Suspects are often assisted by accomplices in "chase vehicles" that follow the railcars.

Homeland Security Investigations agent Brynna Cooke stated in an affidavit filed in federal court that after a train stops (whether a planned stop or because an air hose has been cut), the stolen goods are thrown off the train. The theft of cargo trains has caused more than $157 million in losses to the six major freight railroad companies in the United States, including the value of the stolen goods and the cost of repairing railcars damaged by thieves. This problem has become increasingly serious in recent years as thefts have become more organized and sophisticated.

The Association of American Railroads trade group estimates that thefts nationwide surged by about 40% last year, reaching 65,000 incidents. In 2022, thieves ransacked cargo containers on trains near downtown Los Angeles for months, taking packages belonging to people across the country and littering the tracks with discarded boxes of items they deemed worthless; this brazen theft prompted authorities and freight companies to increase security in the area.

In 2015, thieves broke the locks on a train at a Chicago rail yard and stole 111 guns. Railroad companies have invested millions of dollars in measures to help prevent such thefts, but that doesn't mean they can easily restrict access to the more than 140,000 miles of track they operate nationwide. It passes through remote, rural areas and through the heart of many cities, carrying millions of shipments, from bulk commodities like coal and grain to raw materials like rocks.

The railway trade organization says more federal enforcement and tougher penalties are needed to deter theft. Railroad companies estimate that only about one in ten attempted thefts leads to an arrest, and many of those arrested are repeat offenders. One railroad even reported arresting the same person five times in one day.

BNSF and Union Pacific, the major freight railroad company transporting goods in the western United States, did not immediately respond to Associated Press inquiries about the thefts. BNSF said in a statement to the Times that its internal police force shares information with local law enforcement and prosecutors as appropriate. The company said it has instructed its staff not to confront thieves, but to report incidents. However, the company said that staff rarely encounter them because the trains are so long and the thieves are careful to avoid detection.

Cargo theft from trains, trucks and ships is a problem faced by shipping hubs across the country and is a focus for the FBI. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement estimates that cargo theft at all points in the supply chain, from ports to trains to trucks, causes between $24 billion and $55 billion in losses each year. Many of the more organized groups target major shipping hubs such as Los Angeles, Dallas, Memphis, Chicago, and Atlanta.