A $400,000 shipment of lobsters was stolen as it was headed for Costco warehouses, according to the shipping company responsible for the shipment of shellfish.
Dylan Rexing, the president and chief executive of supply chain company Rexing Companies, said he thinks the driver was impersonating a legitimate carrier.
Rexing said the lobsters, which were not alive, were on their way to Costco stores in Illinois and Minnesota. He said the shipment was picked up earlier this month in Taunton, Mass., but never reached its destination.
“This theft wasn’t random. It followed a pattern we’re seeing more and more, where criminals impersonate legitimate carriers using spoofed emails and burner phones to hijack high-value freight while it’s in transit,” Rexing told NBC News in a statement.
“For a mid-sized brokerage like ours, a $400,000 loss is significant,” he continued. “It forces tough decisions and ultimately drives up costs across the supply chain — costs consumers ultimately end up paying.”
“Brokers are on the front lines of this problem, but we need federal agencies to have modern enforcement tools to keep pace with organized criminal networks,” he added. “Until that happens, these thefts will continue to disrupt businesses and impact everyday prices.”
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The FBI is investigating the lobster shipment theft and no arrests have been announced, Fox News reports.
Costco has not publicly commented on the theft as of this writing.
U.S. Homeland Security Investigations announced earlier this year that it planned to crack down on retail crime through its Operation Boiling Point, which is its response to “organized theft groups (OTGs) profiting from organized retail crime and other theft-related crimes that threaten the economy and security of the United States.”
“It is estimated that cargo theft accounts for $15-35 billion in loss annually. OTGs target cargo at the ports of entry, at truck stops, on freight trains, and anywhere else along the supply chain as the goods are in transit,” the agency said. “OTGs utilize a variety of means to steal cargo including fraudulent pick-ups, phony documentation, etc.”
Much of the targeted cargo is destined for retailers and distribution centres and the most commonly stolen items include pharmaceuticals, food and beverage, electronics, clothing, alcohol and tobacco, personal care and building supplies, according to Homeland Security.
This isn’t the first time thieves have made off with stolen food products this year.
In February, police in Pennsylvania were scrambling to crack the case after 100,000 organic eggs were stolen from the back of a trailer, as egg prices in the U.S. skyrocketed earlier this year.
The poached eggs, estimated to be worth US$40,000 (nearly C$57,276), were in a distribution trailer outside Pete & Gerry’s Organics in Greencastle, Pa., when someone broke into it around 8:40 p.m. Eastern on Feb. 1.
Police did not say how someone was able to take 100,000 eggs without anyone noticing or if they had any potential leads in the case.
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