Three men stole over $20,000 worth of goods from CSX Corp. railcars outside a Memphis depot in November, according to fortune.com. The stolen items included women’s clothing for Belk stores, Lazer Blocks toys, and cases of non-alcoholic chardonnay. The theft occurred under cover of darkness as the thieves used a black Kia Soul to access the containers.
The theft was detected by AI-powered cameras monitoring the rail yard, prompting a coordinated response led by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation with support from federal, state, and local agencies, the Tennessee National Guard, and CSX’s police force. A plane tracked the suspects’ vehicle for 11 miles before officers arrested one man unloading stolen goods and apprehended the other two separately in the following days, according to police records reviewed by Bloomberg News.
Train robberies have surged since the pandemic, with thefts quadrupling compared to pre-2020 levels, fortune.com reports. While historically associated with 19th-century outlaws, modern rail yard thefts have become more frequent and sophisticated, exploiting pandemic-related disruptions. The use of AI surveillance marks a new approach to combating these crimes, which cost the freight industry an estimated $200 million annually.
The Tennessee task force’s use of AI surveillance and coordinated multi-agency response highlights efforts to curb rising rail yard thefts. The incident in Memphis is one among dozens of similar thefts reported in recent years, underscoring the ongoing challenge faced by freight operators and law enforcement.