The Yavapai County Sheriff’s Office is investigating a string of truck and train burglaries in Ash Fork, Arizona, that authorities believe are tied to an organized criminal network in Southern California.
On April 14, a semitruck transporting a "high-value load of tech" from California stopped at a truck stop off of Interstate 40 in Ash Fork, the Sheriff's Office said.
While the truck drivers stepped away to enter the store, a pair of "Sprinter-style" vans that had tailed the semi breached its trailer doors, according to detectives with the Sheriff's Office.
In just 11 minutes, the robbers transferred the cargo from the semitruck into the vans, the Sheriff's Office said. The merchandise that was stolen was valued between $150,000 and $175,000, detectives said.
A string of truck and train burglaries in Yavapai County likely is the work of an organized criminal network in Southern California, investigators say.
Another heist ensued around 5 a.m. April 20. Authorities responded to a call from BNSF Railway in regard to a railcar that had been burglarized, according to the Sheriff's Office.
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"The suspects organized a sophisticated and planned attack on the train," the Sheriff's Office said.
Though further details of the railcar heist have yet to be released, detectives and federal agents believe that the highly coordinated tactics used in both heists resemble the operations of a crime organization based out of Southern California, according to the Sheriff's Office.
The Sheriff's Office asked the public and members of the trucking community to remain vigilant. Anyone with information about Sprinter-style vans operating without license plates or anyone who has observed suspicious activity near I-40 truck stops or rail lines was urged to get in touch with local law enforcement.
