- Train robbers have stolen over $2 million in rare sneakers over the past year. The most recent robbery saw thieves throwing boxes onto the side of the road to pick up later. Sneakers have become increasingly collectible, with one pair of Air Jordans going for more than $2 million two years ago.
The Great Train Robbery of the 21st Century has nothing to do with bank notes and everything to do with footwear.
Felonious sneakerheads in Arizona and California have conducted a series of freight train thefts over the past year, absconding with nearly $2 million worth of Nikes. Included among the stolen shoes were pairs of the Nigel Sylvester x Air Jordan 4 collaboration, a highly anticipated release in the sneaker world.
The most recent robbery, on Jan. 13, saw thieves throwing cases of Nikes onto the sides of roads, later returning to pick them up in a truck. Tracking devices in the boxes, however, allowed police to located and arrest 11 people in connection with the crimes. That theft saw 1,985 pairs of new Nikes stolen, with a value of $440,000.
Sneakers have become a valuable commodity in the past several years. In 2023, a rare pair of Air Jordans worn by Michael Jordan in Game 2 of the 1998 NBA Finals sold for $2.24 million. And even shoes that don’t have a historical significance are seeing their prices soar. It’s not unusual for prices to top $200 for collectible new pairs, and often reach much higher levels.
That has, naturally, led to some one-off sneakers as well. Puma, a few years ago, re-released its “smart” shoe after it debuted almost 40 years ago, which had a computer built into the heel that allowed runners to track their progress, when connected to an Apple IIE or a Commodore 64.
Even Donald Trump has gotten into the game, last year rolling out a gold-colored, $399 branded shoe, dubbing them “Never Surrender High-Tops.” Trump, while introducing the sneakers, said he had been talking about them for 12 or 13 years.