cargo theft

A truck driver fled after Nebraska troopers discovered $250,000 in stolen commercial speakers inside a semi. Officers also found false delivery paperwork during the Sept. 9 encounter near Gothenburg. Other merchandise filled about half of the trailer. Investigators later traced everything aboard to thefts from Illinois and New York. The Nebraska State Patrol received an […]

A copper shipment bound for South Carolina ended up in a Kentucky warehouse. Schneider GPS data helped investigators recover the cargo, while authorities took four people into custody across Kentucky and Ohio.

A Philadelphia crew targeted parked trailers while drivers slept. Group chats and bank surveillance helped investigators trace the stolen freight.

For most of the last decade, “visibility” in freight has meant knowing where a truck is right now. Carriers connected their ELDs and brokers and shippers plugged into telematics feeds. The industry mostly stopped relying on calling drivers to ask for a location. That shift eliminated an enormous amount of manual work, and it’s now […]

Two shipments left an Anheuser-Busch distribution center in Montclair, California, on Aug. 17 but never reached their destinations. Police are investigating whether fraudulent documentation, trucking details and driver information connect the cargo thefts.

Falsified documents were used to pick up the Nike shipment in Memphis before investigators recovered $647,420 in merchandise in Illinois.

Arizona law enforcement coordinated two interstate stops after an investigator located a stolen trailer. Officers recovered roughly $400,000 in cargo within minutes.

Reported U.S. cargo theft incidents rose 5% in Q2, with California and Texas accounting for more than half of recorded cases. Electronics led targeted commodities, while Southern California remained a major cargo theft hot spot.

Barstow deputies stopped a westbound vehicle on Interstate 40 after reports of people entering railroad boxcars. The driver fled on foot before officers took him into custody, according to the sheriff’s department.

Mexican authorities say highway cargo theft is falling, but criminals are increasingly targeting freight through evolving schemes and vulnerable locations.

Officers searched six addresses while investigating stock taken from a heavy goods vehicle. Police expect more operations targeting organized cargo theft.

Scott Cornell explains why compromised drivers made the tactic work and how stronger carrier verification could have stopped it.

The BNSF train continued northbound as deputies searched rail cars from the ground and air. The investigation soon moved beyond the tracks.

Officials confirmed someone took merchandise, but investigators still do not know the haul’s size or how many people participated.

The inquiry started with one missing trailer, then expanded across four commercial assets and two unrelated computer shipments.

High-value metal and technology heists pushed estimated losses from $135.7 million to $304.6 million, even as reports fell 14% from Q1.

Authorities seized 1,378 pounds of methamphetamine, including crystal and highly condensed liquid, during a July 28 operation. Port Police also highlighted cocaine, cargo-theft and firearms cases involving its task force officers.

A California Highway Patrol cargo-theft investigation led detectives to a Rialto retail business connected to multiple thefts. The July 28 warrant resulted in the recovery and return of more than $500,000 in stolen merchandise.

Officers recovered 32,000 pounds of precious metal after stopping two suspects as they left the property. Police credited license plate reader technology with helping the investigation.

Federal prosecutors extradited Abdullah Anwar from Qatar to face conspiracy charges, but the FBI’s reference to cargo theft rings raised new questions. Public court records reviewed by FreightWaves describe an alleged network that moved stolen Apple and Samsung electronics, Yeti products and other consumer goods through an international export operation.