A string of Northern Arizona train robberies with alleged ties to the Sinaloa Cartel has put Mohave County under a spotlight, unveiling a sophisticated criminal operation reminiscent of old wild west tales but executed with modern-day tactics. In recent months, these heists have targeted BNSF trains, stealing primarily high-value items later sold online or in California.
The latest incident, on January 17th, involved eleven individuals now in federal custody, with nine confirmed to be in the country illegally, linked to the Sinaloa Cartel. They were arrested after cutting the air brakes of a moving BNSF train near Perrin, causing it to stop, and then off-loaded $202,500 worth of Nike shoes. AZDPS troopers made initial arrests and then followed suspects in a box truck to Kingman, where additional arrests were made after a foot pursuit.
Hardly an isolated incident, former assistant director of the FBI Chris Swecker told FOX News Digital that cartels have been robbing trains for at least a decade. President Trump’s executive order to designate cartels as Foreign Terrorist Organizations could help curb train robberies Swecker asserted, “It just adds another set of tools in the toolbox”.
October 21st, 2024, 3 suspects escaped and 3 arrests were made after a vehicle pursuit that ended in the Kingman area after an attempted train robbery near Seligman, in Yavapai County. Birdland Crier reported another train robbery near Seligman on January 14th of this year, with dispatch reporting box vans headed toward Kingman. On June 1st, 2023, Coconino County Sheriffs, DPS, Flagstaff PD, and BNSF police launched a manhunt for 7 suspects who attempted to rob a train near Flagstaff. On March 1st, 2024, 5 illegal aliens living in Phoenix were arrested for burglary and possession of burglary tools after a traffic stop subsequent to an attempted robbery of a BNSF train car in Joseph City, in Navajo County. As far back as February 5th, 2019, the theft of shotguns from a BNSF train was reported near Winslow, in Navajo County. This trend of targeting trains for valuable cargo seems to be escalating, with similar patterns observed in Southern California.
Mohave County saw a string of these brazen train robberies in 2024. On August 13th near I-40 and W. Griffith Rd in the Golden Valley area, 3 would be bandits were arrested for attempted train robbery targeting $347K worth of Nike shoes. Another train robbery took place on November 20th near I-40 and Blake Ranch Rd with “multiple box vans in convoy with multiple pickup trucks in escort” according to radio traffic. Following that, on December 8th, another BNSF robbery near Route 66 in Mohave County resulted in $50,000 worth of Nike shoes being stolen, leading to the arrest of four individuals. Then again on January 19th of this year, KPD responded to a reported train robbery behind the Flying J truck stop, according to Birdland Crier.
News sources have largely had to rely on court records and law enforcement reports, as BNSF officials have repeatedly declined to comment. Birdland Crier on Facebook reports local breaking news from radio traffic, but that often is an incomplete picture of the incident and may not include the outcome.
The pattern of these robberies follows a sophisticated blueprint, and due to the targeted nature of specific cargo investigators have not ruled out the possibility of these recent BNSF heists being an inside job. Criminals scout trains, often using drones or other surveillance methods to identify those carrying high-value cargo. Once a target is selected, they employ tactics like cutting air hoses or tampering with signals to force an emergency stop, providing a window to plunder the goods. The stolen items are then quickly hidden in the surrounding brush or taken directly to waiting vehicles for transport.
https://www.cargonet.com tracks supply chain theft data, for more information.