Train Robbers Have Stolen Over $2 Million Worth Of Nike Sneakers.

A band of thieves has carried out at least 10 different heists targeting BNSF trains in the Mojave Desert of California and Arizona over the past year, all in the pursuit of Nike sneakers. Since last March, the group has stolen about $2 million worth of shoes. It's like an Old Western movie meets "Ocean's Eleven." 

These guys start by slashing an air brake hose on the train, which forces the mile-long line of railcars to come to an abrupt emergency stop. From there, they hop on and go to town on the valuable merch onboard, according to the Los Angeles Times. They usually scout out the high-value merchandise on rail lines that run parallel to Interstate 40 by boarding slow-moving trains when the railway is changing tracks or opening containers, Keith Lewis, vice president of operations at Verisk's CargoNet and a deputy sheriff in Arizona, told the outlet.

These folks really seem to know what they're doing. Here's how their whole system works, from the LA Times:

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 U.S. 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.

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.

From there, the cargo would be loaded onto box trucks or simply hidden in nearby brush until other members of the team arrived to pick them up. It sounds almost too simple and rudimentary, but here we are.

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