A series of audacious train robberies has been reported in the Mojave Desert, most of them targeting freight trains carrying Nike sneakers. At least 10 heists have occurred since March 2024, with all but one involving the theft of expensive footwear.
Millions of dollars of merchandise have been stolen since last year.
The thieves stealthily board eastbound freight trains, hiding out until they reach lonely stretches of the Mojave Desert or high plains far from towns. They slash an air brake hose, causing the mile-long line of railcars to screech to an emergency stop.Then, they go shopping.That’s the modus operandi described by investigators in a string of at least 10 heists targeting BNSF trains in California and Arizona since last March. All but one resulted in the theft of Nike sneakers, their combined value approaching $2 million, according to investigators.New sneaker releases may have touched off at least some of the recent incidents. In Perrin, Ariz., thieves allegedly cut an air brake hose on a BNSF freight train on Jan. 13 and unloaded 1,985 pairs of unreleased Nikes worth more than $440,000, according to a criminal complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Phoenix. Many were Nigel Sylvester x Air Jordan 4s, which won’t be available to the public until March 14 and are expected to retail at $225 per pair, the complaint states.
Eleven suspects were caught because of the placement of tracking devices with the shoes. Their nationality is what you would expect.
Eleven people were charged in the Jan. 13 burglary with possessing or receiving goods stolen from interstate shipment. All 11 have pleaded not guilty and were all ordered detained until trial. Ten are Mexicans who were in the United States illegally. Another defendant is a Mexican citizen who was in asylum proceedings in the United States, authorities said in court records.The suspects in the Jan. 13 heist were caught with the help of tracking devices that were inside some of the boxes, the complaint says.
It turns out the thieves are sometimes tipped off to valuable shipments by workers at warehouses or trucking firms. The monetary loss to the train companies is staggering, and the number of incidents jumped a whopping 40% during the last year of the Biden administration.
The suspects are aided by accomplices in “follow vehicles,” which track the rail cars. The loot is tossed off the train after it comes to a halt — either for a scheduled stop or because an air hose has been cut, according to Brynna Cooke, a Homeland Security Investigations special agent cited in affidavits filed in federal court.Thefts from cargo trains cost the nation’s six largest freight railroads more than $100 million last year because of a combination of the value of the stolen goods and the cost of repairs to railcars the thieves damaged, and the problem is getting worse in recent years as the thefts have become more organized and sophisticated. The Association of American Railroads trade group estimates that the number of thefts jumped roughly 40% last year to 65,000 nationwide.
The California Highway Patrol caught a gang of desert bandits who had allegedly stolen $200,000 worth of Nikes.
Some of the shoes may have ended up in Chicago. Earlier this month, a warehouse full of stolen sneakers was recently discovered in Chicago, and a man was arrested and charged with felony theft.
A Chicago man was arrested last week after investigators reportedly discovered about $1 million worth of stolen Nike and New Balance shoes in a warehouse he had sub-leased.Erick Lujano Bautista, 26, has been charged with felony theft.What we know:…In January, Organized Retail Crime investigators discovered that stolen Nike shoes were being kept at a warehouse in the 1500 block of South Western Avenue. The space was found to be sub-leased by Lujano Bautista.On Jan. 31, investigators executed a search warrant at the warehouse, recovering approximately $1 million worth of stolen Nike and New Balance shoes.
Hopefully, more serious minded leaders and Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Department of Transportation will improve the numbers over the next year.
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