Thousands of Packages Strewn Across Tracks Where Thieves Rob Cargo Trains in Los Angeles

If you’re expecting a package and didn't get it, it could have been stolen off a train near downtown Los Angeles.

Trains carrying crates of orders are being robbed, leaving packages strewn across a Union Pacific Railroad track.

As freight trains slow down or come to a halt, the thieves leap on board with bolt cutters, open a giant container and take whatever they want. Left behind are hundreds if not thousands of packages — some empty and some not.

One box was full of COVID-19 home-testing kits — a precious product tough to buy at many pharmacies. Another bag once held a bunch of UPS packages bound for homes across America. An Amazon envelope tossed away wasn't even opened.

Some of the boxes contained retail goods bound for America's empty store shelves.

The track strewn with boxes stretches as far as the eye can see in both directions. The entire section was cleaned up in mid-December, which means that all of the mess is from train robberies that took place in just the last month.

A Union Pacific spokesman told Inside Edition, “While criminals are being caught and arrested, charges are reduced to a misdemeanor or petty offense and the person is back on the streets in less than 24 hours after paying a nominal fine. In fact, criminals boast to our officers that there is no consequence."

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