$400k shipment of live lobsters hijacked en route to Midwest Costco locations
Cooked lobsters sit on ice at Woodman's on July 12, 2025. (Erin Clark/The Boston Globe via Getty Images / Getty Images)
A shipment of lobsters valued at approximately $400,000 and bound for Costco stores in Illinois and Minnesota was stolen before it reached its destinations.
Dylan Rexing, CEO of the Indiana-based logistics firm Rexing Companies, said the shipment was picked up in Taunton, Massachusetts, but never arrived at its scheduled delivery locations, according to WFLD. Rexing said the theft appears to be part of a larger, organized cargo theft operation that targets high-value goods.
“This is a serious problem nationwide,” Rexing told WFLD. “It hurts businesses and ultimately leads to higher prices for consumers.”
The FBI is currently investigating the theft, and no arrests have been announced. Earlier this year, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) launched Operation Boiling Point, an initiative aimed at combating organized retail and cargo theft. HSI estimates that cargo theft results in annual losses of between $15 billion and $35 billion.
According to HSI, organized theft groups frequently target shipments at ports of entry, truck stops, freight trains, and other points along the supply chain while goods are in transit. While these groups may not always be directly involved in organized retail crime, HSI noted they are often connected to the same networks that purchase and resell stolen merchandise.
In September, the Department of Transportation issued a request for information seeking input from law enforcement, transportation agencies, freight carriers, industry stakeholders, and the public on ways to better protect the U.S. supply chain from cargo theft. The DOT stated that these crimes range from opportunistic trailer and container thefts to highly coordinated operations run by organized criminal networks. The agency noted that such thefts cause significant economic losses, disrupt supply chains, and in some cases help fund broader criminal activities, including drug trafficking, counterfeiting, and human smuggling.
Rexing Companies, the Illinois State Police, the FBI offices in Chicago and Minneapolis, and Costco did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
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