Albuquerque, NM (KOAT) — Eleven men are in federal custody in connection with the theft of hundreds of thousands of dollars’ worth of Nike shoes off a BNSF train whose air brakes were cut as it traveled on tracks north of Phoenix. Federal officials attribute the activity to associates of a transnational criminal organization based in Sinaloa, Mexico. Officials say the growing rate of this act is very dangerous and can cause a train to derail, possibly causing serious injury or death to railroad company employees or citizens. Once they manage to stop the trains, the thieves offload merchandise into the brush, notify other cartel associates of the location via cellphone, and take off running to avoid being caught.
