$400,000 worth of lobsters bound for Costco locations in the US were stolen in the latest high-profile cargo theft

• A $400,000 lobster shipment was stolen en route to Costco stores in Illinois and Minnesota.
• Thieves used identity theft tactics to impersonate a legitimate carrier, Rexing Companies CEO said.
• Cargo theft is rising, with the American Trucking Association reporting a 1,500% increase since 2021.

A supply chain company found itself in a real shell game.

Dylan Rexing, the president and chief executive of Rexing Companies, told Business Insider that a large shipment of lobsters worth $400,000 was stolen and went missing on its way from Lineage Logistics in Taunton, Massachusetts, to Costco Wholesale stores in Illinois and Minnesota over the weekend.

Rexing said he believes the thieves "impersonated a real carrier" by stealing its domain, spoofing the email address, and even changing the name on the side of the truck.

"I mean, it's organized crime at the finest," he said.

"We're not really sure if this loss is covered by insurance or not, but definitely this has a large impact to our business," Rexing added. "The cost will end up down the supply chain, and consumers will eventually be paying for this."

Neither Costco nor the FBI's Boston field office immediately responded to requests for comment made after regular business hours.

This isn't the first time that a large shipment of food products has been stolen in transit, nor the first time crustaceans have been hooked by thieves.

In 2024, 100 cases of snowcrabs worth $30,000 were taken from a truck in Philadelphia.

Around 24,000 bottles of "Food Network" star Guy Fieri's Santo Tequila, worth more than $1 million, went missing on its way to the company's warehouse in 2024.

In a blog post written in June, the American Trucking Association called the rise in cargo theft "explosive," and said that strategic cargo theft has risen 1,500% since the first quarter of 2021, and that the average value per theft is more than $200,000. The ATA added that thieves targeting freight shipments cost the American economy up to $35 billion annually, and that 505 cargo thefts were reported during the first quarter of 2025 alone.

"Thieves are using advanced technology to track shipments, identify routes, and even disrupt communication systems to exploit weaknesses in the supply chain," wrote the ATA. "Whether it is tricking motor carriers or drivers into delivering freight to thieves or striking poorly secured distribution centers, these criminals are taking advantage of any opening they can find."