Thieves stole about $10,000 worth of beef from a parked tractor-trailer in Wissinoming early Thursday while the driver slept in the cab, and an hour later firefighters found a burning SUV on I-95 stuffed with smoking meat.
The theft happened around 4:12 AM Thursday, October 29, on the 5200 block of Devereaux Avenue in Wissinoming. Police say the thieves cut the rear padlock on the trailer and loaded five pallets of Upper Iowa Beef into their vehicles while the driver slept. The driver woke when the truck began to shake, and recorded cellphone video of the suspects fleeing in a dark gray Nissan sedan and two dark-colored SUVs.
Surveillance video obtained by 6abc shows the first vehicle arriving around 3:35 AM. The group appeared to use a bolt cutter on the padlock, and more than half a dozen cars arrived minutes later. The theft lasted nearly 25 minutes, with suspects carrying boxes of meat over their heads and on their shoulders. One SUV nearly crashed into another and drove over a box of meat as the group got away. Police released photos of three of the vehicles, and investigators obtained city camera footage they hope to make public.
No arrests have been announced, and no description of the people involved is available.
Just before 5 AM, emergency crews responded to a burning Dodge Journey on I-95 near the Aramingo Avenue exit. After putting out the flames, firefighters found piles of smoking meat inside the SUV, and more boxes of beef had been thrown over the highway onto the train tracks below. The packaging matched the stolen Upper Iowa Beef products.
Whether the burning car is connected to the theft is not confirmed. Northeast Detectives commanding officer Capt. John Ryan told 6abc, “It’s likely the same crew. We haven’t made the connection yet.” Asked whether the stolen meat could be sold, Ryan said, “Well, I’m sure it’s not for personal consumption with the sheer volume of the five pallets. It’s an enormous amount of meat.”
The Wissinoming theft is the fourth cargo theft in Philadelphia within a month. On Tuesday, more than 3,000 pounds of frozen snow crab was taken from a trailer on the 3600 block of Island Avenue in Southwest Philadelphia while that driver also slept. Earlier in October, about $40,000 worth of beef was stolen from a Northeast Philadelphia trailer, and a September beef theft in South Philadelphia was also reported. Together, the four thefts add up to nearly $55,000 in stolen food.
Police say drivers sleeping in their trucks while waiting for morning delivery appointments are frequent targets, and they advise trucking companies to use hardened steel locks and park in brighter, more public locations.
Anyone with information is asked to call Northeast Detectives at 215-686-3153 or 911.
