$500,000 worth of bourbon stolen in 'broad daylight'
An American alcohol brand has suffered enormous losses after thieves pulled off a ‘sophisticated’ six-figure heist, stealing almost 11,000 bottles of bourbon, according to a report.
A Philadelphia warehouse, used to store cases of Noble Oak Bourbon, was targeted in ‘broad daylight’ by larcenists running a ‘coordinated cargo theft operation’, said A21 Wine & Spirits and its parent company, Apogee 21 Holdings, via a press release.
On 5 June, the thieves allegedly rolled a truck up to the company’s third-party warehouse and successfully stole 1,800 cases of the drink, Apogee 21 Holdings CEO Mark Newman told People Magazine.
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It’s understood that the alcohol, which was being held for ‘commercial distribution’ in the property, was loaded onto a truck after drivers presented a license and a purchase order number.
The shipment was allegedly worth $500,000.
Suspicion was allegedly raised when the crooks failed to convince the warehouse’s point person of the details regarding the order.
According to Newman, the warehouse contact called the company’s logistics business, which verified the pickup because they had ‘checked out the trucking company’.
However, when Apogee 21 Holdings called the van booker, they learned the person on the other end of the phone had never even spoken to the company that arrived to pick up the drinks.
The businessman claimed that the opportunists, who illegally seized around ‘half a million dollars’ worth of bourbon, may have found the order on a freight board and took the plunge upon realising it was a ‘high value shipment’.
“They spoofed the name of the trucking company, of the dispatcher, the dispatcher's name,” he theorised. “It's a pretty sophisticated scam.”
Apogee 21 Holdings has since advised customers to ‘remain vigilant ‘as the criminals may opt to resell the liquor through ‘unauthorised channels’.
It also confirmed that the incident was reported to the FBI and local law enforcement, and an investigation is ongoing.
A spokesperson for Noble Oak’s parent company said in a statement: “We are treating this as a serious criminal matter and are fully cooperating with law enforcement authorities.
“The theft involved a significant quantity of premium Bourbon from our newly acquired brand, Noble Oak, and appears to have been executed with knowledge of logistics operations and product movement schedules.”
FOODbible has contacted the Philadelphia office of the FBI for comment.
This isn’t the first time that swindlers have stolen items from warehouses.
In December, a shipment of lobsters destined for Costco stores across Illinois and Minnesota was hijacked by a carrier impersonating a legitimate business, as per Dylan Rexing, CEO of Rexing Companies, the broker who arranged the pickup.
Speaking to ABC at the time about the ‘devastating situation’, he said that the criminals convinced him they were ‘real’ by spoofing emails, changing the name on the side of a truck, and sharing faux driver’s licenses.
The incident followed a November 2025 crime, which saw 14 cages of oysters, possibly worth $20,000, being lifted from an aquaculture site in Casco Bay.
Discussing the recent uptick in cargo thefts, Rexing said it needed to ‘get addressed’ fast by officials.
“It happens every day, multiple times a day,” he said, as per CNN.
The expert also claimed that the stolen seafood had probably already reached restaurants and would ultimately harm consumers.
“Whether you eat seafood or not, they’re stealing other items. They’re stealing items to build your cars. They’re stealing items that go into computers.
“Ultimately, that cost gets thrown to the consumer.”
Ella Scott