Authorities are investigating two back-to-back cargo thefts at a Montclair, California distribution facility that together made off with roughly $70,000 worth of Pabst Blue Ribbon and Anheuser-Busch products, in what may rank among the largest beer heists on record.
How It Happened
The two thefts occurred about an hour apart. In the first, a shipment worth roughly $45,000 and bound for Tucson, Arizona, was picked up for delivery around 10 a.m. local time and never arrived, an estimated 40,000 pounds of Pabst Blue Ribbon beer vanishing in the process. About an hour later, a company falsely claiming to be a subcontractor used fraudulent paperwork to arrange the pickup of roughly $25,000 in additional Anheuser-Busch and PBR product.
Is It One Operation?
Investigators are still evaluating whether the two thefts, which happened close together in time and targeted the same facility and products, were carried out by the same group. Cargo theft using fraudulent subcontracting documentation, as seen in the second incident, has become an increasingly common tactic against trucking and distribution companies.
Pabst’s Response
Pabst Blue Ribbon has publicly appealed for help finding its missing inventory and semi-truck, offering a reward for information leading to their return, while investigators continue working the case.
