Shell Game: $400,000 Lobster Shipment Vanishes in High-Tech Cargo Heist

TAUNTON, Mass. — Federal authorities are investigating a sophisticated “fictitious pickup” that has left a massive hole in the seafood supply chain. A shipment of lobster valued at approximately $400,000 disappeared earlier this month after being picked up from a cold storage facility in Taunton, Massachusetts, destined specifically for Costco wholesale warehouses in Illinois and Minnesota.

The heist, which officials describe as a “strategic cargo theft,” began on December 12 when a driver arrived at the Lineage Logistics facility. According to Dylan Rexing, CEO of the Indiana-based Rexing Companies, the driver used a fraudulent identity—differentiated from the real carrier by only a single dash in an email address—to trick the logistics firm. Once the high-value cargo was loaded, the driver disabled the truck’s GPS tracking system and vanished before reaching the intended Costco distribution centers.

A Growing National Trend

The disappearance was not discovered until the shipment failed to arrive at its Midwest destinations, leaving Costco shelves empty of the premium seafood during the busy holiday season. Rexing noted that the theft follows an increasingly common pattern where organized criminal rings use spoofed emails, burner phones, and stolen identities to intercept freight.

“This theft wasn’t random,” Rexing said in a statement. “It forces tough decisions and ultimately drives up costs across the entire supply chain—costs consumers ultimately end up paying.”

This incident marks the second major seafood theft from the same Taunton facility this month; a shipment of crab was reportedly stolen under similar circumstances just days prior. The FBI has taken over the investigation, coordinating with field offices in Chicago and Minneapolis to track the illicit movement of the seafood.

The Impact of Cargo Crime

Industry experts warn that high-value food items like lobster are becoming “black market” favorites because they are difficult to track once sold. Unlike electronics, lobsters lack serial numbers, making them easy to re-enter the economy via unscrupulous wholesalers. The U.S. Department of Transportation estimates that cargo theft drains between $15 billion and $35 billion from the economy annually.

In response to the surge in such crimes, Homeland Security Investigations recently launched Operation Boiling Point, an initiative specifically designed to dismantle organized theft groups. As of late December 2025, no suspects have been apprehended, and the $400,000 worth of lobster destined for Costco remains missing.

Sources

• Sky News: $400,000 worth of lobster stolen en route to Costco wholesale stores in US
• People Magazine: $400,000 Live Lobster Shipment Hijacked in Suspected Organized Cargo Crime Theft
• Complex: Costco Lobster Heist: $400K Worth of Shelled Seafood Swiped
• WSB Radio: $400K worth of lobsters headed to Costco locations stolen