PHILADELPHIA — A bizarre and fiery discovery on Interstate 95 may be the latest clue in a string of brazen cargo heists targeting tractor-trailers across Philadelphia.
Authorities recently responded to a car found burning on Interstate 95 with "smoking meat" inside, a detail that investigators believe connects the charred vehicle to a series of recent high-value food thefts perpetrated by an organized regional ring.
The smoky discovery follows a massive theft in which thieves stole about $10,000 worth of beef from a tractor-trailer in Northeast Philadelphia. Early Thursday morning, around 4:15 AM, a coordinated group targeted a rig parked on the 5200 block of Devereaux Avenue in the city's Wissinoming section.
According to police, the truck driver, who traveled from Iowa, was sleeping in the cab while waiting for his scheduled morning delivery. The robbery caused the truck to shake, waking the driver. He managed to record the suspects on his cellphone as they broke the rear padlock, rapidly unloaded five pallets of frozen beef, and fled in a dark gray Nissan sedan and two dark-colored SUVs.
This incident represents the latest in a wave of food cargo thefts in the region. Just days prior, 3,000 pounds of frozen crabmeat were stolen from another tractor-trailer in Southwest Philadelphia under similar circumstances. Earlier this fall, a group of masked men also made off with a half pallet of Black Angus beef ribs in South Philadelphia.
Police believe the same organized group of thieves is likely responsible for the string of meat heists, systematically targeting sleeping truck drivers in the early morning hours. Detectives are now working to piece together whether the smoldering vehicle found on I-95 was one of the getaway cars used to transport the stolen cargo.
