Old-Fashioned Train Heists Yield Modern-Day Loot: Nike Air Jordans

U.S.|Old-Fashioned Train Heists Yield Modern-Day Loot: Nike Air Jordans

It sounds like something out of the Wild West.

In recent months, well-organized bandits have jumped on trains rolling through the Mojave Desert in Arizona and stolen their cargo. But these robbers were not stealing gold bullion and pocket watches. They were taking Nike Air Jordans, wireless gaming headsets and other modern-day loot, according to federal prosecutors.

In many cases, the robbers used electric saws, bolt-cutters and other tools to break open the locks on containers holding pricey merchandise. Then they cut the air hoses on the brakes, which caused the trains to come to a sudden stop and put them at risk of derailing, prosecutors said. Trains in the region often travel at 70 m.p.h.

Once the trains were stopped, the robbers took cases of Air Jordans, electronics and other goods off the trains and hid them in fields and brush by the side of the tracks. Then they contacted associates who came to pick up the goods and hauled them away in box trucks, prosecutors said.

Eventually, some of the merchandise ended up for sale from third-party vendors on Amazon and eBay.

The train heists, previously reported by The Los Angeles Times, have increased in frequency over the past two years, as more transnational gangs have been targeting high-value shipments, prosecutors said.

At least 12 defendants — most of them Mexican citizens who were in the United States illegally — have been charged in federal courts since last year, according to court documents that describe at least seven train robberies since June 8, 2023. Law enforcement agents have seized about $3 million in merchandise believed to have been stolen from BNSF trains.

Several defendants were arrested in January after the authorities responded to a BNSF train whose air hose had been cut near Williams, Ariz. That particular train transported only Nike products and had been frequently targeted by robbers, prosecutors said.