LA looters raid unattended containers amid supply-chain chaos

As many Americans worry about empty shelves and delayed packages, looters are taking advantage of the inflow of goods outside of the two southern California ports that are responsible for handling almost half of all U.S. imports.

In Lincoln Heights, a densely populated neighborhood in central Los Angeles that is home to terminals belonging to Union Pacific Corp. and United Parcel Service Inc., looters are breaking into cargo containers to steal delivery packages, CBS Los Angeles reported.

CBS footage shows lines of packages from carriers including UPS and Amazon.com Inc., many of which arrived from Asia through the nation’s largest ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, stretching along the railways. The looters raided packages that contained all sorts of consumer goods, while abandoning those seen as not valuable enough, including Covid-19 tests and EpiPens, devices used in emergencies to treat severe allergic reactions.

“We have increased the number of Union Pacific special agents on patrol, and we have utilized and explored additional technologies to help us combat this criminal activity,” Union Pacific told CBS. According to the report, the Los Angeles Police Department only responds to reports of train robberies when they come from the carriers, which rarely happens.