This is interesting in attributing a lot of criminal activity to cartels. I have a very interesting interview with a guy formally associated with the Sinaloa Cartel who just did 26 years in federal prison, now released and I believe to be a CIA asset because he wrote a book and is too well informed. Could have been picked up as a liaison to the group? I found his information to be pretty credible, and he gave some interesting threats of what cartels could do if pushed too far, which reminded me of the Las Vegas Concert shooting attributed to the guy that sold illegal weapons out of his hotel room (witnesses reported two shooters who were very effective). He also mentioned deals where no cartel people would be moved to America and do time in Mexican prisons which are bizarre if you ever saw Get the Gringo featuring Mel Gibson, as basically they allow people in and out of prison willy nilly; so women, contraband… leaving you really not serving a true prison sentence as well as still running your operation.
By Tyler Durden
Organized criminal gangs have carried out a series of sophisticated train heists targeting BNSF freight trains in the Mojave Desert along the California-Arizona corridor. The thieves have targeted double-stack container cars, specifically containers carrying high-value Nike sneakers.
Los Angeles Times reported thieves stealthily boarded eastbound freight trains in the lonely stretches of the Mojave Desert at least ten times and stole millions of dollars in sneakers and other goods since last March. Nike sneaker thefts have topped $2 million.
Here’s more from the report:
New sneaker releases may have touched off at least some of the recent incidents. In Perrin, Ariz., thieves allegedly cut an air brake hose on a BNSF freight train on Jan. 13 and unloaded 1,985 pairs of unreleased Nikes worth more than $440,000, according to a criminal complaint filed in US District Court in Phoenix. Many were Nigel Sylvester x Air Jordan 4s, which won’t be available to the public until March 14 and are expected to retail at $225 per pair, the complaint states.
Keith Lewis, vice president of operations at Verisk’s CargoNet and a deputy sheriff in Arizona, explained to the newspaper how the whole theft operation works:
Theft crews typically scout high-value merchandise on rail lines that parallel Interstate 40 by boarding slow-moving trains, such as when they are changing tracks and opening containers.
Lewis said the thieves are sometimes tipped off to valuable shipments by confederates working at warehouses or trucking companies. Other times they simply look for containers with high-security locks, which they cut with reciprocating saws or bolt cutters, a Homeland Security Investigations special agent said in affidavits filed in federal court.
Once the desired loot is found, the thieves alert “follow vehicles,” which track the train. The stolen goods are tossed off the train after it comes to a halt — either for a scheduled stop or because an air hose has been cut or control wires inside signal boxes have been sabotaged, said the federal agent, Brynna Cooke.
The cargo is then loaded into box trucks, or hidden in nearby brush until they arrive — provided the surveillance crews that are following the train don’t detect law enforcement, Cooke said. These tactics are often employed by transnational criminal groups that consist primarily of Mexican citizens from Sinaloa, she said.
The latest figures from the Association of American Railroads show that railroad thefts surged to 65,000 in 2024, a 40% increase from the previous year, costing major railroads $100 million.
According to a recent release from the US Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, illegal aliens from Mexico have been responsible for some of these train thefts:
Criminal organizations that specialize in stealing from trains, which consist primarily of Mexican citizens with connections to the Mexican State of Sinaloa…
In other words, cartels…
President Trump and Border Czar Tom Homan have made it clear that they will not tolerate cartels that jeopardize national security. Deploying US military forces to secure the border is the first line of defense in restoring law and order.