Thieves are littering Los Angeles train tracks with stolen cargo, packages

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Friday, January 14, 2022
Thieves littering LA train tracks with stolen packages
Thousands of stolen packages are littering the Union Pacific tracks, the result of a cargo crime spree.

LOS ANGELES (KGO) -- There's an astonishing scene on the Union Pacific tracks leading to Downtown Los Angeles.



Thieves are breaking into railroad containers and emptying goods onto the tracks.



Boxes upon boxes of merchandise litter the tracks.



RELATED: FedEx worker caught on surveillance camera stealing packages in SF



Once the goods have been tossed out of moving freight trains, others swoop in looking for the most valuable items.



One Amazon customer who returned an item had no idea her delivery had been interrupted.



CBS LA reporter Kristin Lazar: So there was something you sent back but you just had no idea it never made it to its intended destination?



Customer: Yeah, I don't even know what would be in that box. I buy so much from Amazon and send so much back, I wouldn't even know what it was.



Union Pacific says this stretch of track was cleaned up just 30 days ago.



RELATED: US postal inspector encourages public to stay aware of mail theft, robberies



Police say they have increased patrols along this stretch of track and are looking at other technology to stop these crimes from happening.



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