Train heists are up with a crew stealing $2M in Nike shoes
It’s not quite desperados riding up to a train chugging through the high desert and relieving passengers of their valuables. No twisty mustaches and spurs here. However, train heists are still a thing in 2025 and criminals are going for high-dollar items, like $2 million worth of unreleased Nike shoes.
Thieves target slow-moving trains in daring heists to steal Nike shoes and electronics
It sounds like something out of the video game franchise “Grand Theft Auto.” Bandits board a train and patiently wait until it chugs its way through a remote, desolate stretch of desert. Then they cut the train’s air brake hose, bringing the seemingly endless column of rail cars to a stop. From there, it’s open season on the goods within.
However, these thieves aren’t hunting for diamonds or gold bars a la outlaws in old western films. No, they’re after Nike shoes and other spendy loot. And the crews carrying out these daring train heists know exactly what to seek. Over the course of 10 BNSF train heists, criminals absconded with around $2 million in Nike shoes, including unreleased models.
One such heist in Arizona resulted in the theft of 1,985 pairs of high-dollar, unreleased Nike shoes. Altogether, that one brazen robbery amounted to around $440,000, per the LA Times. Of those valuable shoes, many were the Nigel Sylvester x Air Jordan 4s, a shoe set to hit shelves on March 14.
Now, if you’re unfamiliar with collectible sneakers, they’re kind of a big deal for enthusiasts. Some limited-run or one-off shoes like Air Jordans and Nike Air Force Ones can net six-figure paydays, not unlike lovingly restored classic cars at auctions. This is serious business.
After the crews find their intended prizes, they would signal the chase vehicles to offload the goods. The vehicles are anything from vans and trucks to U-Haul rental trucks, and crews on the ground help load the stolen merchandise before making a speedy getaway. Fortunately, law enforcement used trackers to recover the trucks and many of the Nigel Sylvester x Air Jordan 4s stolen in January.
