A new wave of organized cargo theft in the US sounds more like a Hollywood thriller than a supply-chain crime story, with gangs targeting trucks carrying millions of dollars’ worth of data center equipment across the country.
More than $100 million in data center equipment has reportedly been stolen in transit since June alone, according to NBC News. A separate industry report estimates that total AI equipment thefts have exceeded $150 million so far in 2026.
The staggering losses come as criminals increasingly pursue the servers, chips and other high-value hardware required to support the artificial intelligence boom.
These are not simple smash-and-grab robberies involving a getaway car and a ski mask. Investigators say sophisticated international networks are using cybercrime, false identities and even staged road collisions to execute multimillion-dollar heists.
In one especially bold incident in July, thieves allegedly stole $38 million worth of cables and cartridges in Reno, Nevada, using drivers who carried fake licenses.
A month earlier, a shipment containing $13 million in computer server equipment was attacked while crossing California’s Mojave Desert. A car reportedly crashed deliberately into the vehicle escorting the truck.
The trailer was eventually found at a truck yard in Stockton, California, but the valuable cargo was gone.
Weeks later, another shipment carrying an estimated $10 million in server rack components disappeared while traveling from San Jose, California, to a data center project in Texas.
More than $100 million in data center equipment has reportedly been stolen in transit since June alone, while a separate industry report estimates that AI equipment thefts have surpassed $150 million in 2026
Keith Lewis, head of operations at risk-assessment firm Verisk CargoNet
The security team’s vehicle was hit by an SUV in a collision resembling a hit-and-run, while tracking technology apparently showed false coordinates designed to conceal the truck’s actual movements.
The stolen cargo has included servers, memory modules, storage drives, routers, fiber-optic cables, copper wiring and other specialized equipment.
As demand for AI infrastructure surges, even ordinary-looking components can command enormous prices. One trailer, for example, was carrying roughly $300,000 worth of copper wire.
“It’s like stealing pure gold bars,” Keith Lewis, head of operations at risk-assessment firm Verisk CargoNet, told NBC News. “It’s so much easier to steal this than to rob a bank.”
The more troubling development is that many of the thefts appear to be planned well before a truck begins its journey.
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Criminals have reportedly infiltrated the online accounts of freight brokers and transportation companies to obtain confidential schedules, locate valuable shipments and impersonate legitimate carriers.
Some gangs allegedly use AI-generated driving licenses to help fraudulent drivers clear identity checks. GPS spoofing can also make a shipment appear to be moving safely toward its destination when it has been diverted.
The stolen cargo has included servers, memory modules, storage drives, routers, fiber-optic cables, copper wiring and other specialized data center equipment, including hardware for Stargate AI in Abilene, Texas (pictured)
In some cases, investigators suspect that drivers themselves may participate in the thefts, exposing weaknesses in the way carriers and their employees are screened.
Cargo risk management company Overhaul says reports involving stolen data center equipment, computing components and semiconductors have increased 34 percent since 2024.
Fraud appeared in 92 percent of the high-value technology shipment thefts examined by the company, indicating that deception has become more common than physical force.
The stolen equipment does not always appear for sale on online marketplaces.
Investigators say international buyers may be arranged before a shipment is intercepted. Some of the stolen technology is believed to be destined for countries such as China, where US export controls apply to certain advanced AI equipment.
Carrier-verification platform Verified Carrier has also linked India, Uzbekistan, Pakistan, Colombia and Moldova to suspicious or fraudulent activity connected to US cargo theft.
Experts say the groups behind these crimes function less like opportunistic thieves and more like international commercial operations.
Scott Cornell, chair of the Transported Asset Protection Association’s Americas division, told NBC News that the networks are “planned,” “plotted” and “strategic,” exploiting vulnerabilities at multiple points across the supply chain.
The impact could extend far beyond the stolen hardware. Missing shipments may delay data center construction and disrupt projects worth millions or even billions of dollars.
Overhaul has warned that insurance may reimburse the value of the equipment but not the indirect costs linked to missed deadlines or delayed customer contracts.
As companies compete to secure the hardware powering the AI revolution, the expense of protecting these shipments is also likely to increase.
With billions of dollars flowing into data center construction, America’s highways have become a lucrative target for criminals seeking to profit from the technology boom.
