Stolen shoes from brands including Nike, Yeezy, Supreme and Ugg were reportedly found in a Chicago warehouse. Local authorities said the haul is worth close to $5 million.
According to a report last night from CBS News Chicago, millions of dollars shoes — some of which were described as “limited-edition” or “difficult to find” — were found at a West Side warehouse in the Austin neighborhood, the site of a theft ring that targeted freight trains. The report stated the stolen shoes were taken from rail cars from across the country and shipped to the warehouse, and then they were sold to retailers.
“Whether it be Nike products or UGG products or Adidas or Supreme, a lot of massive amounts of property, it’s probably close to $5 million in merchandise, minimum,” Tom Heroin, chief of the Lyons Police Department, told CBS News Chicago.
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According to the report, the Lyons Police Department launched an investigation after a cargo theft was reported roughly a week prior. That led investigators to the warehouse, the report stated, where a search warrant was issued and the shoes were discovered.
The report also stated the warehouse was “on the radar of multiple railroad companies and the Illinois Attorney General’s Office” with rail cargo thefts increasing throughout the country.
Specifically with this warehouse, the report stated retailers would go to the warehouse to purchase goods, not knowing they were stolen, after they were advertised on social media or via word of mouth.
“What they would do is they’d commit these cargo thefts, like from Memphis, Tennessee. They’d re-label it, and they would ship it here. They would unpackage it, repackage it, and it’s a 100% markup, because they got it all for nothing,” Heroin Heroin told CBS News Chicago.
The report stated two people were charged and several others are being investigated.
“These are individuals who are working together for a common cause, which is money,” Heroin told CBS News Chicago.
FN has reached out to the Lyons Police Department for comment.
Although this is the latest shoe theft news, it’s not the lone headline this year where millions of dollars in stolen sneakers were discovered. In June, for instance, Los Angeles police uncovered $7 million worth of Nike sneakers from a warehouse in Torrance, Calif., according to a report from CBS news affiliate KCAL Los Angeles. The Los Angeles Police Department confirmed to FN that detectives were alerted to a theft of several cargo containers Near the Port of Los Angeles. From there, officials followed the goods to the Torrance warehouse, where they executed a search warrant.
