Nearly $1M in Pokémon Cards STOLEN from FedEx

A FedEx truck carrying nearly $1 million in Pokémon and sports cards was robbed in California. FreightWaves’ Phil Brink and Highway’s Brennan Bailey break down how this audacious cargo theft happened and what it means for supply chain security. Discover the different types of freight theft and expert strategies to protect valuable cargo on the road.

A FedEx driver arriving at a Professional Sports Authenticator (PSA) facility in Santa Ana, California, on Oct. 13 found the lock securing his trailer’s rear door missing and approximately $963,000 worth of Pokémon and sports trading cards gone, according to Santa Ana police. Two full pallets had vanished, and a third pallet had been visibly ransacked. Investigators told Phil Brink, FreightWaves head of fraud media and education, who reported the story, that the actual loss could be even higher as authorities were still conducting on-site inventory to determine what was in the truck and whether the cards were inbound or outbound.

The case matters to carriers and shippers because it sits squarely in one of the country’s densest cargo theft corridors. Santa Ana is roughly 30 miles from Torrance, California — a city that serves as a benchmark for regional theft data. Brink cited an Overhaul report he covered in August showing that 37% of reported cargo thefts nationwide occurred within a 200-mile radius of Torrance, and nearly 70% of those regional incidents happened within a 50-mile radius of the city.

This story was originally published by FreightWaves. Read the full story at FreightWaves →