When one thinks of international organized crime rackets, one likely imagines the dramatic Hollywood crime movies that feature pinstripe-suited Italian gangsters running numbers, or tattooed Russian mafia thugs smuggling guns, or violent Mexican cartels dealing drugs.
What one doesn’t think of, though, is thieves stealing trucks full of pistachios and almonds.
But authorities say those are the targets of a sophisticated international crime ring. And they’re stealing millions of dollars every year.
Gangsters targeting California’s booming agriculture industry are increasingly stealing truckloads of high-value nuts, prompting authorities and the firms falling victim to ramp up efforts to break the crime spree.
The sophisticated organizations in many cases use high-tech tactics, hacking into trucking companies to steal their identity. Armed with false shipping papers, they pose as legitimate truckers, driving off with loads of nuts such as almonds, walnuts or pistachios valued at $150,000, and some worth $500,000 each.
Days later, when a shipment fails to arrive to its intended destination, the nuts may already be in another state or on a ship destined for Europe or Asia, where they fetch top dollar on the black market, authorities say.
Last year, nut thefts hit an all-time high in California — with losses totaling $4.6 million from 31 reported cases, more than the three previous years combined, according to CargoNet, an alliance of cargo shipping firms and law enforcement agencies aimed at preventing losses.
Losses for all four years combined were nearly $7.6 million, the group reports.
“It’s made my life miserable,” said Todd Crosswell, general manager of Caro Nut Co.
Caro was victimized six times last year for a total loss of $1.2 million. In each case, thieves stole cashews imported from Vietnam and Africa that were roasted, salted and packaged in Fresno.
“You get hit with that kind of loss — it hurts,” Crosswell said.
The value of nuts grown and processed in California, the nation’s leading agricultural state, have soared in recent years as global demand for the health-food snack grows in places such as China and emerging economies.
California produces more almonds, walnuts and pistachios than any other state with a combined value of $9.3 billion in 2014. Almonds alone were valued at $5.9 billion, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
The high value of nuts grabbed the attention of criminal organizations, who are exploiting weaknesses in the cargo shipping industry to reap big profits, said Dan Bryant, supervisory special agent for the violent and organized crimes programs of the FBI Sacramento office.
Bryant declined to identify any organizations under suspicion, citing an ongoing criminal investigation. “It’s not just some teenage kids ripping off nuts,” he said. “These are sophisticated people.”
Local authorities are also taking action. One state lawmaker has introduced a bill to fund a statewide taskforce targeting all types of cargo thefts. And law enforcement officials and nut processors are meeting Thursday to share information to help prevent more nut thefts.
Alarmed by a spike in large-scale nut thefts, Tulare County Sheriff Mike Boudreaux last year beefed up his agriculture crimes unit from two to six detectives.
In 2013, his office investigated a $189,000 pistachio theft. No cases were reported the next year, but in 2015, six loads of almonds and pistachios were stolen at a combined loss of $1.6 million.
Investigators tracked at least one load to Los Angeles and made one arrest. Boudreaux declined to name the suspect due to the ongoing investigation.
“They do tend to have some overseas connections,” said Scott Cornell, an investigator for Travelers Insurance and an expert on cargo thefts. “Wherever they can sell it and move it they’re going to.”
Crosswell said he’s put in place new safeguards with hopes he doesn’t fall victim once more, taking photographs and finger prints of the roughly 25 truck drivers each day that pull up to the shipping docks. Despite these effort, Crosswell said he fears the criminals will strike again.
“Whoever they are, they’re watching,” Crosswell said. “They’ll try it again. They’ll figure out how to beat the system. We just have to stay one step ahead of them.”
The Associated Press contributed to this article.
They are just trying to get some of the good nuts out of California!
Actually, I prefer they take the “bad nuts” out of CA and ship them overseas and force them into slave labor (so they can experience what the rest of us have to deal with on a daily basis!!).
Amen. It’s a state full of nuts of all kinds.
California….Land of the FRUITS…FLAKES AND NUTS….
They could also steal ALL of the NUTS out of the DC CESSPOOL…
Yeah. But let’s start first , since it is already in CA , with Governor Brown and the other treasonist demorats in CA.
Actually we are not all fruits, nuts or berries, but the sanctuary cities are: San Francisco, Los Angeles, and San Diego, and, of course, Hollywood, and moonbeam and Kamala. A lot of us are also planning on leaving this state which is becoming a clone of Obama world! However, the sad part is that many liberals from this state have moved to Texas, OR and WA and, of course, want everyone there to change to their way of thinking/doing/living. Talk about stupid! Hey, by the way NY City is just as bad.
You forgot the Fruit (LBGTS). Send them to IRAN. They know the proper way of eradicating them!
That may explain why I have to pay more for nuts at the grocery store. Hopefully the thieves will be caught and …[note: I’m censoring the remainder of my comment. I will allow you to complete the thought.]
They’re nuts
If one thinks like a criminal, this is a no brainer. There are no serial numbers. Hard to trace. Maybe have to change from on package to another. So it’s 95% profit for the crooks. Too bad for the nut lovers. Higher prices.
AHHHHHH….NUTS
Full payment should be received before the nuts are released for shipment.
Doesn’t matter if the nuts disappear between A and B. Only changes who in the supply chain gets left holding the bag. SOMEBODY in the chain is out, and it will trickle down to the consumer eventually.
Ill bet that most of these gangsters are illegal immigrants .Who else but field workers would be able to develop this scheme. Thanks Obamba you really are producing “change” in illegals pockets
NOT! You didn’t read the article.
The article explained that the stealing is occurring in the SHIPPING phase. Hack the shipper’s data, copy the relevent forms, slip your own truck in place of the legitimate carrier. That’s NOT something “field workers” would know or be in a position to do anything about.
Only thing you got right was Obama and his push for electronic records. They’re easier to hack.
Every living human being is entitled to life support. That is a God given right. Every human being is entitled to earn and inherit comfort. That is a God given right. A person who steals to eat is not a thief. A person who steals to enrich his wealth is a thief.
The u.s. has strayed from God and Jesus. The u.s. has mutated into attracting and rewarding greed that creates wealth which in turn creates poverty. Evil is winning.
wtf? You need to get a job, preferably with the ACLU if you even know who they are,
Everything you said is crony-capitalism kool-aid cooked up to take advantage and get the backing of sheeple who can’t imagine that their pastors could be hoodwinked by self-serving robber barons. Don’t believe me” Read this, and you’ll know why evil is winning.
http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2015/04/corporate-america-invented-religious-right-conservative-roosevelt-princeton-117030
Anyone who steals from another is a thief. It doesn’t matter whether it’s to eat or for enrichment. Food stolen from one source deprives someone else of food. You have one f****d up moral compass. And the abbreviation for United States is U.S.
The real thieves are in the government and the 2%. 20 Trillion in the hole is NOT possible with out MAJOR corruption.. which is stealing.
A thief is a thief! What do you think GOD says about stealing? Read the 10 Commandments for the answer!
What they need to do is contact the company that has placed he order, and give them a specific load number that is to be picked up. They can phone their driver to give them his pick up number. This works perfectly. I have used this system many times to insure that the correct people are making the correct pick up. You will also keep it off of the internet, so you cannot be hacked.