Cargo Heist: $400,000 Worth of Lobsters Vanish on Their Way to Costco

A supply chain company found itself tangled in an elaborate deception recently.

Dylan Rexing, who serves as the CEO of Rexing Companies, shared with Business Insider that a substantial haul of lobsters valued at $400,000 was stolen while being transported from Lineage Logistics in Taunton, Massachusetts, heading to Costco branches in Illinois and Minnesota.

Rexing expressed that he suspects the culprits effectively 'posed as a legitimate transporter' by hijacking the carrier's web identity, forging an email address, and even altering the vehicle's branding.

He remarked, 'This is organized crime at its pinnacle.'

He further added, 'Uncertain whether insurance covers this incident, the ramifications for our operations are significant. Ultimately, the financial burden will ripple down the supply chain, likely affecting customers.'

Requests for comments from Costco and the Boston FBI office, made after regular business hours, went unanswered.

This event is not unprecedented, as high-value food cargo has often been targeted during transit. Seafood, in particular, has been a common target for such thefts.

In 2024, a theft took $30,000 worth of snow crabs from a vehicle in Philadelphia.

That same year, about 24,000 bottles of the 'Food Network' personality Guy Fieri's Santo Tequila, over $1 million in value, vanished before reaching a warehouse.

The American Trucking Association highlighted in a June blog post the alarming surge in industrial theft, noting a 1,500% rise in strategic thefts since early 2021. The average loss per incident exceeds $200,000, pushing the cost to the U.S. economy to an estimated $35 billion annually, with 505 reported thefts in just the first few months of 2025.

According to ATA commentary, 'Criminals are leveraging sophisticated tech to monitor shipments, chart paths, and even interfere with communications to exploit vulnerabilities in logistics. These strategies include deceiving transport companies into handing over cargo or infiltrating poorly secured facilities.'