Arizona Train Thefts Target Nike Sneakers, Including Nigel Sylvester's Air Jordan 4 'Brick by Brick' Collab

Train heists in California and Arizona over the last year have targeted railcars carrying Nike sneakers, resulting in theft worth about $2 million.

The report, published by Alex Wigglesworth of the LA Times, states that a string of at least 10 heists have taken place since March 2024. Thieves stealthily board freight trains heading eastbound towards Arizona until they reach lonely stretches of the Mojave Desert or other isolated parts on the route. Once they feel in the clear, they "slash an air brake house, causing the mile-long line of railcars to screech to an emergency stop," according to Wigglesworth.

The most recent incident occurred on Monday, Jan. 13, in Perrin, Ariz. Thieves targeted a BNSF freight train, unloading 1,985 pairs of unreleased Nikes worth north of $440,000. The criminal compliant filed in the U.S. District Court in Phoenix shared that many of the stolen pairs were the Nigel Sylvester x Air Jordan 4 'Brick by Brick' collaboration scheduled to release to the public on Friday, March 14.

House of Heatº asked Sylvester for a comment on the situation but had not received a response by the time this story went live.

As one of the year's most-anticipated releases, Sylvester's 'Brick by Brick' project could be a lot more limited than originally expected due to these thefts. Stolen pairs could eventually make their way into the secondary market, with the limited supply available at retail likely increasing the after-market mark-up on the Air Jordan retro.

Thieves targeting unreleased Nikes being transported is nothing new. Reports of cargo stolen near the Swoosh's Distribution Center in Memphis are frequent enough, especially ahead of the holiday season. In the past, StockX has reacted to these reports by prohibiting certain styles of sneakers from being sold on its platform until after Nike's official launch date.

Train theft targeting the world's largest sportswear company isn't likely to stop anytime soon, but investigators are continuously looking to prevent losses. It's unlikely Sylvester's collaboration gets delayed from its March 14 launch, but internal logistics and plans for the future could have been impacted by January's heist.

To stay up-to-date on the 'Brick by Brick' pair and other styles from Team Jumpman, bookmark the Air Jordan Releases Calendar.