Thousands of packages with merchandise looted from freight cars in Los Angeles

Dozens of freight cars are robbed every day in Los Angeles by thieves who take advantage of their stops to loot the packages they transport, leaving thousands of broken boxes on the track and products bought online that will never reach their destination.

According to tags found Friday by an AFP team in a lane near the city center, easily accessible from nearby streets, most of the major US distance selling and courier companies (Amazon, Target, UPS, Fedex, etc.) are affected by these thefts that have been skyrocketing for a few months.

The thieves take advantage of the fact that the long train convoys are immobilized on the tracks to get on the freight containers, the locks of which are easily broken with the help of pliers. So they just have to take as many packages as possible, leaving behind many products that are difficult to resell or too cheap, such as tests for covid, furniture or medicines.

Since December 2020, rail operator Union Pacific (UP) has seen a 160% increase in thefts in Los Angeles County.

“In October 2021 alone, the increase reached 356% compared to October 2020,” the operator said in a letter to local authorities sent to AFP.

This explosion of looting is accompanied by a resurgence of “assaults and armed robberies against Union Pacific employees,” adds this writing.

The phenomenon has taken off again with the peak of activity linked to Christmas shopping. According to figures reported by UP, more than 90 containers were vandalized on average each day in Los Angeles County in the last quarter of 2021.

To stop the phenomenon, Union Pacific says that It has reinforced surveillance measures (drones, detection systems, etc.) and has recruited more police to protect its roads and convoys.

Along with Los Angeles City and County police, more than 100 people have been arrested in the last three months of 2021 for “vandalizing” Union Pacific trains. (I)