Modern-Day Gang of Train Robbers Is Targeting Freights Traveling Through California, Arizona

The West is wild again. A train robber gang is terrorizing rail lines across the deserts of California and Arizona with a rash of heists that have netted the hop-along gang nearly $2 million in pricey Nike sneakers.At least ten trains traveling along the Burlington Northern Santa Fe freight railway have been robbed while in transit over the past 11 months, according to a report from Los Angeles Times.The bandits have been stealthily sneaking on to eastbound freight trains and stowing away until reaching barren stretches of the Mojave Desert or high plains far away from towns. Then they strike, slashing air brake lines to bring the mile-long convoy of rail cars to a screeching halt before pilfering the merchandise on board.The pack of thieves is alleged to scout out slow-moving trains on rail lines running along Interstate 40, or are tipped off to valuable shipments by informants working at warehouses of trucking companies, according to the Times.Other times, they scope out trains with containers with high-security locks that they cut with reciprocating saws or bolt cutters, according to an affidavit by a Homeland Security Investigator filed in federal court.The thefts are often tied to the release of a new product that is in high demand. On January 13, the thieves allegedly cut the air brakes on one BNSF freight train near Perrin, Arizona. They unloaded nearly 2,000 pairs of Nikes, including Air Jordan 4s that will not be released to the public until next month and are expected to retail for $225 a pair, according to a criminal complaint filed in the U.S. District Court at Phoenix.In another incident on November 20, A BNSF train was brought to a halt near Hackberry, Arizona, after it started to lose air. Sheriff’s deputies in Mohave County stopped a white van leaving the area and found it stocked with 180 pairs of unreleased Air Jordan 11 Retro Legend Blue sneakers, according to a complaint filed at the Phoenix Federal Court. Another case filed shows that investigators had also recovered Air Jordans from two BNSF Train heists in April and June of last year valued at more than $600,000.According to affidavits filed regarding several incidents, the stolen merchandise is usually transported to California to be sold through third-party resellers on Amazon and eBay.Court documents show that the theft ring is elaborate and continues even as their suspected ringleader was arrested last June.Felipe Arturo Avalos-Mejia, also known as “Pollo,” had allegedly used scouts to help him choose trains to target and supply vehicles for hired burglary crews, according to a file compliant with the Phoenix Federal Court.Investigators tell the Times that “Pollo” operated his criminal enterprises out of Los Angeles and Phoenix and is believed to have been boosting BNSF trains for more 11 years.The Association of American Railroads estimates there were at least 65,000 railroad burglaries in 2024 — a 40 percent increase from the previous year, costing the nation’s largest railroad companies more than $100 million. The figures may be undercounted because not all thefts are reported and only become public after criminal complaints are filed with the courts.

Modern-Day Gang of Train Robbers Is Targeting Freights Traveling Through California, Arizona

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