Three men have been federally indicted in two separate Memphis-area cargo theft cases involving stolen computer equipment, tires, and televisions, with investigators putting the combined losses at nearly $600,000. Federal authorities say the thefts reflect a troubling shift in tactics, with thieves getting more creative as they target the region's sprawling freight networks.
According to WREG, a grand jury indicted 53-year-old Aubrey Brown and 24-year-old Kemptrell Daniels in a case tracing back to 2024. The pair are accused of receiving $5,000 in computer networking hardware and other commercial freight taken from an interstate theft, according to the Department of Justice. Brown faces an additional charge of transporting the stolen Arista computer networking switches from Tennessee to California, Georgia, and Texas between July and August 2024, per the same federal announcement.
In a second indictment, federal grand jurors charged 32-year-old Pierre Smith with four counts of possessing stolen property. Prosecutors allege Smith took Insignia and Samsung televisions along with Toyo and Sumitomo tires from CSX interstate rail shipments moving between California, Georgia, and Tennessee from March to August 2024, the Justice Department's announcement states. The stolen televisions and tires were headed to other states, per the same account.
Federal Penalties and a Widening Pattern
Under 18 U.S.C. § 659, receiving, possessing, or transporting stolen goods moving in interstate shipment carries a maximum of up to 10 years in federal prison per count, along with fines and supervised release, according to the Justice Department. Cargo thieves commonly target train boxcars, 18-wheelers, and warehouses, the report notes, exploiting Memphis's role as a logistical hub for goods moving across the country.
The two indictments arrive on the heels of other recent Memphis cargo cases. Memphis resident Gregory Luss was sentenced to 24 months in federal prison earlier this month and ordered to pay more than $420,000 in restitution for possessing a stolen semi-trailer of Water Piks bound for Amazon, following an October 2023 theft that ended in an interstate vehicle pursuit that struck six cars, according to the Justice Department. In July, federal prosecutors unsealed an indictment against 12 individuals accused of stealing more than $2 million in Nike retail products from Nike's North American Logistics Center in Memphis between 2021 and 2024, as reported by The Federal Newswire.
Cyber-Enabled Tactics Raise New Alarms
Jeremy Baker, assistant special agent in charge with the FBI Nashville Field Office-Memphis Resident Agency's Cargo Theft Task Force, said his team is starting to see more sophisticated cyber-enabled methods, WREG reports. Baker said cargo thieves now use technology and cyber tools to identify shipments, sending phishing or spoofing emails to infect shipping companies' systems and exploit their vulnerabilities.
Baker said the financial fallout from cargo theft can trickle down to consumers and drive up the price of goods. “Somebody is paying for it,” Baker told WREG, adding that small carriers can suffer devastating losses from cargo theft. The Memphis Safe Task Force, which arrived in Memphis nearly a year before this report, has helped raise awareness among law enforcement and prosecutors as the business community has increasingly passed cargo theft costs onto customers, per the outlet's reporting.
Baker said he is encouraged by current efforts and that authorities are doing everything possible to stop cargo theft, according to WREG. U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn said many criminal gangs have focused on cargo theft, the station reports. Per a statement from the U.S. Attorney's Office, the Memphis Safe Task Force has contributed to the FBI Memphis Cargo Theft Task Force's investigative and enforcement efforts, citing Memphis's unique transportation and logistics infrastructure and its importance to interstate commerce across America. The U.S. Attorney's Office said it will commit significant law enforcement and prosecutorial resources to protecting business, industry, and corporate interests, and will hold cargo-theft offenders accountable.
Why Memphis Remains a Target
The city's exposure to this kind of crime is largely a function of geography. Memphis International Airport is described as the busiest cargo airport in North America, with a recent cargo volume of more than 3.8 million metric tons; Memphis is also connected to major highways and five Class I railroads, according to Dedola Global Logistics. A Verisk CargoNet analysis of July 1–7 listed Shelby County among counties frequently affected by cargo theft, alongside Dallas County, Texas, and Los Angeles and San Bernardino counties in California, per FleetOwner.
Cargo theft losses exceeded $359 million in the first half of 2026, and the average stolen-commodity value was about $341,518, according to FleetOwner's report of CargoNet data.
Anyone with information about federal crimes or terrorism threats can submit anonymous or named tips to the FBI Nashville Field Office-Memphis Resident Agency's Cargo Theft Task Force. Reports involving cybercrimes, online scams, identity theft, or financial fraud can be filed with the Internet Crime Complaint Center. Tips can also be called in to the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI (225-5324).
