Gangs of illegal immigrant thieves stole Nike sneakers collectively worth over $2 million in months-long freight train heists across California and Arizona, the Los Angeles Times reported Sunday.
The thieves sabotaged and robbed the freight trains at least 10 times from March 2024 to Jan. 13, 2025, stealing the pricey sneakers in nine of the 10 incidents, despite the arrest of a ringleader, according to the outlet.
The thieves allegedly cut an air brake hose on a BNSF freight train in Perrin, Arizona, Jan. 13, forcing the railcars to an emergency stop, and carted away 1,985 pairs of Nikes worth more than $440,000, the outlet reported, citing a federal criminal complaint.
Law enforcement tracked down and arrested eleven people, and accused them of the crime. Nine of them reportedly were Mexican nationals illegally present in the U.S. Five of the 11 reportedly pleaded not guilty while the remaining six have not yet entered pleas.