Gone are the days of armed gangs of criminals pulling off train heists in the American Southwest to make off with cash and bags of gold.
These days, it's just sneakers.
According to the Associated Press, a group of 11 Mexicans have been charged with stealing over $2 million in Nike merchandise in at least 10 freight train burglaries in California and Arizona.
In a Jan. 13 robbery, suspects cut an air brake hose on a BNSF freight train traveling through a remote section of Arizona and made off with more than 1,900 pairs of unreleased Nikes worth more than $440,000, according to a criminal complaint filed in federal court in Phoenix. Many of the shoes 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.
The gang of Nike enthusiasts, which one can only assume includes Miguel Jordan and LeJuan James, consists of 10 Mexicans here illegally and one Mexican defendant who had sought asylum in the U.S.
All 11 defendants pled guilty to possessing or receiving goods stolen from interstate shipments.
To all those looking to carry out similar crimes, a longtime Nike spokesman has this advice for you:
His Airness has spoken.
P.S. Now check out our latest video 👇
