Illegal Immigrants Take Aim At New Targets in Train Heists Costing American Networks $100 Million

Brazen thieves are stealing millions of dollars of designer shoes in train heists in the California and Arizona deserts.

A string of ten heists have occurred since last year targeting BNSF freight trains resulting in the theft of about $2million worth of Nike sneakers, some of which had not yet been released on the market.

An indictment filed on February 11 accused Noe Cecena-Castro and ten other defendants of possessing over $440,000 worth of Nike shoes, which had been stolen from a BNSF train in North Arizona on January 17.

The case was the latest in the string of thefts from the trains where Cecena-Castro and the ten other defendants allegedly worked together in a plan to obtain and sell on more than 1,900 pairs of unreleased Nike shoes.

Many of the pairs were Nigel Sylvester x Air Jordan 4’s, which are set to be made public on March 14 and are expected to retail at $225 per pair, the Los Angeles Times reported.

El Chapo’s Sinaloa Cartel is believed to have been behind the heist and nine of the 11 defendants were identified as Mexican nationals without legal status in the US.

Criminal organizations such as these often cut the trains air hoses – which can derail the trains typically travelling up to 70mph – which causes the trains to come to an emergency stop.

Once stopped, often within the deserts away from towns or cities, those aboard the train will break into the containers and unload the cargo, according to the Arizona District Attorney’s Office.

Another crew will then drive cargo vehicles to pick up the stolen goods and the items are then sold online.

The number of thefts last year increased by 40 percent from 2023, with at least 65,000 railroad cargo thefts, according to the Association of American Railroads.
The trade group also said that the thefts are expected to have cost the nation’s largest rail companies more than $100million.

That figure is derived from not just the costs of insurance claims for stolen goods but the need to repair or replace damaged infrastructure, invest in new anti-theft technology, manage operational delays and allocate additional resources to fight such thefts.

Keith Lewis, vice president of operations at Verisk’s CargoNet and a deputy sheriff in Arizona, told the LA Times that the thieves are sometimes tipped off to valuable shipments by confederates working at warehouses or trucking companies.

If not, they will find trains with high-security locks and cut them with saws or bolt cutters, according to a Homeland Security Investigations special agent in affidavits filed in federal court.

Cases such as these have only increased recently. On November 20, another BNSF train came to an emergency stop in Arizona and authorities discovered around 180 pairs of then-unreleased Air Jordan 11 Retro Legend Blue sneakers valued at $41,400, according to court documents.

Another, on December 6, found $48,000 worth of then-unreleased Nike Dunk Low Midnight Navy sneakers where four people were charged with possessing or receiving goods stolen form interstate shipment, according to court documents.

In April and June, $346,200 worth of then-unreleased Nike Air Jordans were recovered after two BNSF trains were burglarized, and two other cases resulted in the theft of $612,000 worth of Nikes and eight arrests, according to court documents.

A spokesperson for BSNF, Lena Kent, told DailyMail.com that the train company ‘has robust protocols’ and their police is ‘focused on preventing these incidents’.

‘We work hard to protect our customers’ freight from pickup to delivery and have security measures in place to help ensure these goods arrive safely,’ Kent said.

‘We are working with federal, state, local, and tribal police departments to coordinate our approach to disrupting criminal activity and arresting offenders.’

‘It’s essential that the entire criminal justice system, including policymakers, district attorney and judges, focus on this crime trend and help ensure these criminals are held responsible and prosecuted.

‘These are not victimless crimes, particularly when many of these packages include much-need medicine, food and critical supplies necessary for everyday life.’

Railroads estimate that one in ten thefts result in some kind of arrest.

The alleged ringleader in the June heist, Felipe Arturo Avalos-Mejia also known as Pollo, was said to have used scouts to find trains to target and supplied vehicles for the paid burglary crews before orchestrating the sale of the goods, according to court documents.

He was believed to have been working out of Los Angeles for 11 years.

On June 20, law enforcement and Homeland Security searched 11 residences and 16 storage units and arrested 43 suspects.

The search recovered around $3million worth of stolen merchandise which were believed to have been stolen from BNSF trains.

BNSF police contacted San Bernardino County sheriff’s deputies for help responding to a burglary on January 10, according to a news release obtained by the LA Times.

On their way to the train line, reporting authorities saw an unmarked box truck driving through Wonder Valley. They conducted a traffic stop and found $18,000 worth of Nike shoes that were stolen from the train, according to a criminal complaint.

Jose Villalobos-Infante, 45, and Oscar Sosa, 28, were both arrested and were allegedly on their way to Los Angeles with the stolen goods, the complaint said.

Villalobos-Infante and Sosa both pleaded not guilty to charges of second-degree burglary and grand theft.

Five days later, another freight train burglary took place in Amboy, California, where police were called to once again.

This burglary resulted in authorities chasing after an unmarked white van. The van got stuck on a sand berm and two occupants of the vehicle ran, sparking a helicopter chase.

Two boys, 16 and 17, were caught and arrested.

The same night, another vehicle believed to be related to the crime was pursued but the driver fled on foot.

Investigators recovered 218 cases of Nike products worth $418,000, the Sheriff’s department told the LA Times.