Police say that on March 2, approximately 60,000 pounds of shelled walnuts were stolen from two 52-foot trailers in the Hunts Point area of the Bronx. The shipment, valued at approximately $50,000, contained palletized boxes of packaged walnuts intended for commercial distribution.
Cops in Los Angeles on Wednesday arrested five people in Corona on shocking charges of operating a multi-million dollar cargo theft ring. The LAPD said the suspects were collared in a long-running investigation that focused on a series of thefts targeting cargo and container chassis, which carry shipping containers for big-rig trucks. Cops, along with three other agencies executed search warrants on the suspects Wednesday and discovered an eye-popping amount of allegedly stolen loot.
For the past year, security researchers have been urging the global shipping industry to shore up their cyber defenses after a spate of cargo thefts were linked to hackers. The researchers say they have seen elaborate hacks targeting logistics companies to hijack and redirect large amounts of their customers' products into the hands of criminals, in what has become an alarming collusion between hackers and real-life organized crime gangs.
The first seafood vanished on Nov. 22 in Falmouth, Maine, where authorities suspect someone stole 14 cages full of oysters from an aquaculture site in Casco Bay. Many of the oysters were full-grown and ready for sale, and together with the cages were worth $20,000, according to the Maine Marine Patrol. "This is a devastating situation for a small businessman," said Marine Patrol Sgt. Matthew Sinclair.