Two people are behind bars after the latest arrests of suspected thieves from Mexico allegedly nabbing millions of dollars of Nike sneakers in elaborate railroad heists in the Mojave Desert.
On March 27, the Hualapai Nation Police Department in Arizona pulled over the driver of a maroon Chevy Tahoe “suspected to be involved in train robberies in the area,” according to a statement from the agency.
As officers conducted the traffic stop, eight people jumped out of the car and fled. Police said they located stolen Nike shoes nearby, and the driver of the vehicle, a man from Mexico, was arrested.
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Nike sneakers on display at the newly renovated JD Sports store at Westfield Stratford City in London July 30, 2024. (Reuters/Mina Kim)
During the investigation, police pulled over a woman driving a white Toyota 4Runner for failing to yield to an emergency vehicle.
Upon approaching that vehicle, officers “observed evidence of criminal activity” also linked to the train robberies, according to police.
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The woman was ordered out of the vehicle by officers, and, despite initially complying, she reentered the vehicle and sped away, police said. As she attempted to evade authorities, she allegedly struck a patrol officer, who was not injured.
The woman dodged police for approximately 80 miles before losing control of her vehicle in a construction zone and smashing into a guardrail near the Arizona-California border, police said. She was ejected from the vehicle and transported to a hospital with minor injuries.
The female suspect evaded police for approximately 80 miles before her car smashed into a guardrail near the Arizona-California border March 27. (Hualapai Nation Police Department)
Both suspects were in the U.S. illegally and have been booked into the Mohave County Adult Detention Center.
The Mohave County Sheriff’s Office and the Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
The heist comes as authorities have seen a rise in railroad heists targeting Nike shoes between California and Arizona over the past two years.
Members of the Sinaloa Cartel raided a BSNF train Jan. 17, according to Homeland Security Investigations. (AFP Photo/Robyn Beck)
In February, a grand jury returned an indictment against 11 defendants, including nine illegal immigrants, from a theft of Nike merchandise being shipped through northern Arizona, according to the Department of Justice.
Authorities said the Sinaloa Cartel stole hundreds of thousands of dollars in Nike shoes from a moving BNSF train in Arizona in January.
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People visit a Nike store on 5th Avenue during the holiday season in New York City Dec. 9, 2022. (Reuters/Eduardo Munoz)
“Criminal organizations that specialize in stealing from trains, which consist primarily of Mexican citizens with connections to the Mexican State of Sinaloa, have used the technique of cutting air hoses to control where trains with valuable cargo come to a stop,” the DOJ said in a statement. “This act is very dangerous and can cause the trains, which travel up to 70 miles per hour, to derail.”
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Thieves will often leave boxes of stolen goods along railroad tracks for a second crew to pick up and transport to California, where the products will be sold online, according to federal prosecutors.
Nike did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
