Robbers like from the Wild West. They attack moving trains in the USA

Thieves don't steal gold or money, their loot is sports shoes and electronics - this is how American media describe the surprising robberies that have been taking place in remote desert regions of the USA recently. Robbers rob moving trains. "They sound like something straight out of the Wild West" - the media describe.

A gang of robbers rob a train in the Arizona desert, enter the train, cut the cables, forcing the locomotive to stop, and then load the goods onto a truck and flee. No, this is not the 19th century. Such unusual robberies are described by the newspaper "USA TODAY".

During at least 10 such robberies in California and Arizona , thieves stole Nike shoes worth about two million dollars (nearly eight million PLN). In connection with the thefts, which also took place in 2023 and 2024, more than 60 people were charged.

" It happens fast. It happens like lightning ," said Keith Lewis of CargoNet, which helps companies recover stolen goods. He said thieves are staging raids in isolated locations so they have time to escape.

"Many of these areas are inaccessible except by helicopter . Often, you can't even get to them with off-road vehicles ," Lewis points out.

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USA TODAY obtained investigation materials showing that thieves are checking containers — which transport trains — for those that may contain valuable cargo , such as brand-name shoes or electronics .

As we read, robbers usually board trains in staging areas. Then, while the train is moving, they use tools to move from container to container . When they find something worth stealing, they often force the train to stop by cutting the brake hose, which causes an "emergency stop."

According to investigators, when the train stops, trucks pull up and the thieves unload their goods. Keith Lewis says he saw the whole process with his own eyes. " I watched them through binoculars ," he says. "I just couldn't get there in time," he adds.

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Not all robberies end with the perpetrators being caught. USA TODAY notes that some robberies occur in such remote areas of the country that after a train is damaged , conductors and engineers are trapped with the train, which is unable to continue. Unprepared to stop the robbery, the only thing they can do is call 911.

- Conductors told me that they actually saw them unloading the goods - Lewis says. - They can't confront them because they are not armed, and the attackers could be armed - he adds.

The last attack known to investigators occurred in Arizona in mid-January.