Here's how $400,000 Massachusetts lobster heist went down

A shipment of lobster meat valued at approximately $400,000 was stolen earlier this month from a cold-storage facility in Taunton, Massachusetts, in what logistics experts describe as a sophisticated case of cargo theft involving fraud and impersonation.

The theft occurred after a logistics firm coordinating the shipment was allegedly deceived through a phishing scheme, according to Dylan Rexing, chief executive of Rexing Cos.

The scheme began when a culprit slightly altered the email domain of a legitimate trucking company, allowing the fraudulent entity to pose as a real carrier during the hiring process, Rexing told The Wall Street Journal.

The shipment was being stored at a third-party cold-storage centre on behalf of a Rexing customer. On December 12, an individual arrived at the facility to collect the load, which was scheduled for delivery to Costco warehouses in Minnesota and Illinois.

Rexing said the individual allegedly impersonated a legitimate carrier by presenting a fake commercial driver’s license. The tractor-trailer used in the pickup displayed the real trucking company’s name and trailer number, further contributing to the deception.

After leaving the facility with the lobster meat, the alleged thief or thieves disabled GPS tracking devices on the truck. The shipment has not been recovered. Rexing said that even if the lobster meat were located, it would have to be discarded due to food-safety regulations.

“This is a very sophisticated crime,” Rexing said. “This is not a mom-and-pop shop.”

Rexing added that local police told him a shipment of crab was also stolen from the same cold-storage facility earlier this month, suggesting a possible pattern of targeted thefts. He said he believes the operation involved a large, organized group and that the Federal Bureau of Investigation is examining the incident. A spokesperson for the FBI’s Boston field office declined to confirm the existence of an investigation, citing department policy.

Costco and the Taunton Police Department did not respond to requests for comment.

Cargo theft has become a growing concern nationwide, according to logistics and transportation experts, affecting companies across industries and of varying sizes. Small businesses are often particularly vulnerable.

The food-and-beverage sector faces elevated risk because stolen products can be easily reintroduced into the supply chain, said Chris Burroughs, chief executive of the Transportation Intermediaries Association, a professional organization representing 1,800 member companies, including Rexing Cos.

“There’s no unique serial number on a load of lobster meat,” Burroughs said.

Earlier this month, the association launched a hotline for members to report cargo and strategic theft incidents. The hotline received more than 40 reports within its first few days, Burroughs said, many involving similar impersonation tactics in which companies mistakenly believed they were working with legitimate trucking firms.

Thieves have also increasingly targeted high-value commodities such as copper, Burroughs said, as well as consumer staples during periods of shortage.

“They’re trying to find things that are high-value commodities that are easy for them to sell,” Burroughs said, citing egg and baby-formula thefts in recent years.

The Department of Homeland Security estimates cargo theft results in annual losses ranging from $15 billion to $35 billion. In response, the agency launched Operation Boiling Point to combat organized retail crime and cargo theft.

“This really affects your pocketbook,” Rexing said. “Whether you eat lobster or you don’t, there are many products that are being targeted and stolen…The consumer is the one who pays [for] this at the end of the day.”

By Sabina Mammadli