Overview

• Two semitrailers carrying 24,000 bottles departed Laredo, Texas, for Lansdale, Pennsylvania, in November 2024 and vanished after loads were reassigned through sham carriers.
• Criminals sent fabricated emails about supposed mechanical failures and spoofed GPS data to make it appear the trucks were nearing their destination.
• The LAPD Cargo Theft Unit recovered about 11,000 bottles in a Southeast Los Angeles warehouse roughly three weeks later, while the second truckload remains missing.
• Investigators with CargoNet and LAPD say the scheme fits patterns of a transnational network reported in Eastern Europe, including Armenia, as cyber-enabled cargo theft has surged about 1,200% in recent years.
• Santo Spirits lost limited-edition stock timed for the holidays, faced inventory shortfalls, and enacted layoffs, and no arrests or full recovery have been announced.