The Los Angeles Police Department has recovered $1 million worth of cargo stolen from BNSF and Union Pacific Railroad facilities.
According to a September 30 release, police took out a search warrant for a Whittier, California, warehouse for local retailer Shoes n Shoes, where they found stolen Yeti cups and jugs, Nike, New Balance, Brooks and Sanuk shoes, JanSport backpacks, and Shark vacuums, across 59 pallets of cargo. The business was reportedly owned by a man who admitted to buying much of his inventory from brokers of middlemen who were believed to be illegal distributors of the stolen merchandise.
Police arrested the business owner and booked him for receiving stolen property. The operation was conducted by LAPD's Commercial Crimes Division Cargo Theft Task Force, in collaboration with UP's Railroad Police, BNSF Police, Alameda Belt Line Police, LA Port Police, and the LA County District Attorney's Office.
Dubbed the "Southern California Red Zone" by risk management platform Overhaul, the region around the Los Angeles metro area accounted for 37% of all cargo thefts in the U.S. between July 2025 and June 2026 — almost as much as the combined totals reported in Texas, Illinois and Florida. Warehouse thefts also made up 55% of all cargo theft incidents in the region, followed by point of origin thefts at 18%, and rail thefts at 17%.
