28 Billion Won Worth of Cargo Stolen from Freight Train... The 'Target' of the Robbers

Nike Sneakers Stolen from US Freight Train
Before Official Release... Expected Price Around $225
11 Suspects Arrested and Detained

Photo unrelated to the article. Pixabay

Recently, crimes targeting trains transporting cargo in the United States, where thieves steal valuables and flee, have been on the rise.

According to foreign media including the British Independent on the 24th (local time), on the 13th of last month, robbers stole $2 million worth of new Nike sneakers on a railroad passing through Arizona, USA. The suspects cut the air brake hose of a BNSF train passing through a remote area to stop it, then stole high-end sneakers from the cargo car that had not yet been officially released to stores. According to the indictment, the stolen shoes were the Nike Nigel Sylvester Air Jordan 4S model, which was not scheduled to be publicly released until before the 14th of next month. The expected retail price was known to be $225 (about 320,000 KRW).

As a result of the incident, all 11 people who purchased or traded these sneakers were arrested and detained. There was a tracking device inside the sneaker boxes, allowing the products to be traced. All those detained denied the charges but were held under court order and are awaiting trial. All 11 were Mexican nationals, with 10 of them being undocumented immigrants. The other was confirmed to have applied for immigration to the United States.

Photo unrelated to the article. Pixabay

Recently in the United States, theft crimes that take advantage of trains slowing down to change tracks or open cargo cars and stop them have been increasing. Keith Lewis, Deputy Sheriff of Arizona, explained, "Robbers often conspire with accomplices in the warehousing or transportation industries to obtain information about valuable cargo and commit crimes."

It was reported that last year, the six major freight train companies in the United States suffered damages amounting to $100 million (about 143.13 billion KRW) due to such theft incidents. The Railroad Trade Group voiced that "stricter punishments are necessary to prevent the chronic problem of theft."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.