Nike Heist: How the LAPD Tracked Down Suspected Sneaker Thieves

Going to the ends of the earth to secure your favourite sneakers is something that most collectors can relate to, but the past few years have seen others operate in a much more unsavoury way. Sneaker theft (particularly of the organised crime variety) has unfortunately become much more commonplace within the sneakersphere, and as a result, the authorities have been working hard to close in on those responsible.

nike basketball eybl academy 2015 collection Nike products, and a search warrant affidavit (later acquired and reported on by the LA Times) suggests that the theft ring in question may have stolen over $2 million worth of Nike goods. According to CargoNet, a theft prevention and recovery network, the top-targeted locations for sneaker thefts are truck stops, warehouses and distribution centres, and over the years it has become clear that the latter has been a sore spot for the Swoosh.

The detectives involved say that the thieves may have exploited loopholes in Nike’s distribution system, starting at the brand’s Memphis warehouse. The crime ring is suspected of printing fake shipping labels and paying off workers at both Nike and UPS to misdirect cartons of shoes around LA. Detectives say that members would intercept the misdirected packages somewhere along the supply chain, and according to the affidavit, sometimes shipping labels would be swapped with the shipping company after the products had left Nike’s warehouse. One Memphis police sargent, who had been working with the department’s cargo theft task force since last June, told the LAPD that he had become aware of ‘numerous unidentified co-conspirators working at the warehouse'. Nike had reportedly been working on identifying the perpetrators internally before they alerted the authorities. Back in January, Nike employees in Memphis found 10 cartons of shoes on the back of a U.S. Postal service truck that had their original shipping labels covered with pre-addressed UPS ones. The next day, Nike intercepted eight more cartons of over-labeled shoes – these pairs were reportedly 'unavailable for sale or resale within their worldwide supply chain'.

According to the affidavit, the ring had also recruited UPS employees in Tennessee and California. During the investigations, a trail led back to a Memphis-based man via one of the misdirected packages. After obtaining search warrants for his email, texts and iCloud data, it could be seen that he had exchanged contact numerous times with a Nike employee in Memphis. The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s office has filed 27 felony counts of receiving stolen property against him.

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