The thieves secretly freight trains eastward, hiding until they reach the loneliness of the Mojave desert or the high plains far away from the town. They cut the air brake hose, causing a mile-long railroad line to scream to the emergency stop.
Then, they went shopping.
This is what investigators described in the robbery of at least 10 BNSF trains since March last year. According to investigators, everyone except one stolen Nike sneakers, which totaled nearly $2 million.
The new sneaker release may have encountered at least some recent events. According to a criminal lawsuit filed by the U.S. District Court in Phoenix, in Palin, Arizona, thieves allegedly cut off an air brake hose on a BNSF freight train on January 13 and unloaded 1,985 pairs of unloaded Nikes released, worth over $440,000. Many are Nigel Sylvester X Air Jordan 4s, which will not be available to the public until March 14, with an estimated retail price of $225 per pair, the complaint said.
Keith Lewis, vice president of operations at Verisk's Cargonet, said theft crew often searches for high-value goods on rail lines that board the plane parallel to Interstate 30, such as boarding slow-moving trains, such as changing cars and When the container was opened, their Cargonet vice president of operations Keith Lewis said Arizona County, the Sheriff's Department.
Lewis said thieves sometimes send valuable goods through allies working in warehouses or truck companies. At other times, they simply look for containers with high safety locks and cut them with reciprocating saws or bolt cutters.
After finding the required loot, the thief warns to “stalk the vehicle” and the thief tracks the train. Federal agent Brynna Cooke said the stolen goods were thrown away from the train after stopping — either a scheduled stop or because the air hose had been cut, or the control line inside the signal box could be destroyed inside the signal box. .
Then load the cargo into a box truck, or hide in nearby brushes until it arrives – provided that the surveillance personnel concerned at the train cannot detect law enforcement, Cook said. She said the strategies are often adopted by transnational criminal groups and are composed primarily of Mexican citizens in Sinaloa.
According to industry estimates compiled by the association, at least 65,000 rail cargo stolen last year, a 40% increase from 2023. American Railroad. According to the trade group, thefts are often classified as burglaries because they do not involve direct facing victims, just like robbery – considered to have cost the country's largest railway company more than $100 million.
Lewis said the numbers could be a primer because the railway did not advertise all the thefts. Details are usually only publicly available only when arrested and criminal proceedings are filed.
“Why should I put my dirty clothes on the street?” Lewis said. “If I show a tendency to steal along the rail line, everyone will know there is something wrong with the railroad.”
The BNSF said in a statement that its internal police force appropriately shared information with local law enforcement and prosecutors.
The company said its staff were instructed not to face thieves but to report incidents. However, the crew rarely encountered them because the train was too long and the thief carefully escaped the detection.
According to Lewis' experience, theft tends to rise and fall, often associated with releasing the ideal new product. In December, investigators saw a series of burglaries in which smart vacuum cleaners were stolen from train containers, Lewis said.
Federal complaints say the stolen Knicks case on the train was later picked up by a truck during the January 13 robbery. County and state law enforcement officers were able to catch up with the vehicle with the help of tracking equipment in certain boxes. Eleven people were arrested and charged with possession or receiving goods stolen from interstate freight. Prosecutors said nine Mexican citizens were found to be illegal. Three were charged with illegal re-entry after dismissal, and six were charged with improper entry. Five defendants pleaded not guilty; according to the court case files, six people have not yet made a request.
In another case, a BNSF train arrived at the emergency stop on November 20 at an emergency stop near Hackbury, Arizona, according to a complaint filed in Phoenix Federal Court. The complaint states that deputies in Mohaf County stopped a whiteboard van and saw the area leave the area and found about 180 pairs of air-unissued Jordan 11 Retro Legend Legend Blue sneakers worth $41,400. The driver pleads not guilty to possessing or receiving goods stolen from interstate freight.
Investigators recovered $48,000 worth of then-unpaid Nike Dunk low midnight naval sneakers in another BNSF train burglary near Yampai, Arizona. Receive goods stolen from interstate freight. According to the case, three people changed their plea to a non-pleasant hearing, one of which has not yet pleaded guilty and one case has not yet been filed.
Investigators also recovered a total of $346,200 worth of Nike Air Jordans after two BNSF train thefts in April and June, according to documents filed by Phoenix Federal Court.
Two other cases of the BNSF freight train stolen near Kingman and Seligman in Arizona last year resulted in the theft of $612,000 Nike and eight arrests, according to federal criminal lawsuits. According to the case file, in Kingman, five defendants pleaded not guilty to the charge of possessing or receiving goods stolen from interstate goods. Details involving the Seligman case have been submitted under seal.
In an affidavit filed in several of the cases, Cook said the stolen goods are usually shipped to California for sale or sale online through third-party Amazon and eBay dealers.
Both Amazon and ebay said in a statement that they have zero tolerance for criminal activities on the platform and that they work with law enforcement to support prosecutions against those who sell stolen goods.
Court documents show that even last June, an authority said theft was still going on. Felipe Arturo Avalos-Mejia (known as Pollo) allegedly used scouts to help him choose which train he targeted, provided vehicles and paid for theft crew, and facilitated the sale of stolen goods, according to a complaint filed in the Phoenix Federal Court. .
Investigators said he lives in Los Angeles, operates both in Los Angeles and in Phoenix, and is believed to have been involved in the BNSF train theft for more than 11 years.
On June 20, local California law enforcement agencies and homeland security personnel executed search warrants at 11 homes and 16 storage units related to ongoing train theft, arrested 43 suspects and recovered from storage units About $3 million in goods according to the complaint, from the BNSF train. The complaint said more merchandise — including numerous stolen Nike shoes — was allegedly recovered from a woman’s home who said she had a romantic relationship with Avalos Megia.
Court documents say Avalos-Mejia initially escaped the authorities. Investigators said they recovered from a place where he fled 74 stolen Nikes, 108 packs of socks and 35 pairs of shoes, worth about $94,659, and 10 stolen vehicles believed to have been used in the BNSF Train theft.
Avalos-Mejia was detained on June 21 with another man at a restaurant in Huntington Park, carrying a Louis Weiden bag with $120,000 in cash and listing details of theft of Nike and other merchandise Ledger and sold from BNSF trains to provide detailed description of its value in detail, according to the complaint.
The case file says Avalos-Mejia pleaded not guilty to possessing or receiving goods stolen from interstate freight, and his trial is scheduled to take place in June. His attorney could not be contacted for comment.
Local law enforcement agencies also participated in the train theft investigation. San Bernardino County Sheriff's representatives are studying the possibility between recent burglaries in Arizona and two robberies in Amboy, a desert ghost town where $436,000 Nike merchandise was stolen from the BNSF train.
On January 10, BNSF police said in a press release that San Bernardino County Sheriff's representatives helped the burglary.
On the way to the train line, deputies saw an unmarked box truck passing through Wonder Valley, an unincorporated community outside Twenty-Nine Palms. According to the criminal lawsuit, they conducted traffic parking and found that $18,000 worth of Nike shoes were stolen from the train.
Complaints say deputies arrested occupants of explosive trucks – Jose Villalobos-Infante, 45, of Phoenix, and Oscar So, 28, of Apple Valley Oscar Sosa, they allegedly traveled to Los Angeles with stolen goods.
Villalobos-Infante and Sosa plead not guilty to second-degree burglary, conspiracy and theft brought in the San Bernardino County Superior Court.
Five days later, BNSF police contacted the sheriff's department again to ask for help in response to the stolen freight trains in Amboy.
Release noted that when deputies headed to the scene, they tried to stop an unmarked white van from driving in the amazing valley, but it quickly descended, triggering a chase. Investigators said the van was trapped on the beach and two of its crew members ran away. The deputies caught up with the help of the sheriff's department helicopter and arrested the two boys, 16 and 17 respectively. Whether to file charges against two teenagers.
That night, deputies saw another vehicle they believed was related to the crime and broadcasted its message through the dispatching system. The Sheriff’s Department said the California Highway Patrol later stopped the vehicle in Landes, but its driver fled on foot and kept it whole.
Investigators recovered 218 Nike products worth $418,000, the sheriff's department said.
Times researchers Cary Schneider and Scott Wilson contributed to the report.
