If someone offers to sell you a box of shrimp that “fell off the truck,” don’t laugh. They’ve got some fast fencing to do, since seafood doesn’t exactly have the shelf life of, say, diamonds. But the latest victim of culinary larceny says it’s a growing problem.
This past Saturday evening, a container truck containing 1,750 cases of tail-off white vannamei shrimp weighing 35,000 pounds went missing in the Pilsen neighborhood. Each of the twenty-pound cases contains ten two-pound bags of Member’s Mark brand medium-sized uncooked shrimp. The truck was parked in an undisclosed location when the vehicle was reportedly stolen and there was no driver present at the time. The destination of the shipment is still unknown, although Preferred Freezer Services, the company responsible for the shipping order, suspects it was a big-box store such as Costco or Sam’s Club. Preferred Freezer Services contacted members of the frozen foods industry to alert them about the stolen goods.
“Preferred Freezer Services and their client partners are aware of the growing theft problem within the cold chain industry,” company spokesperson Christina McGinley writes. PFS is offering $5,000 for any information leading to an arrest of those involved in the “shrimp hijacking.” The stolen shrimp would have fetched some $209,650 at Sam’s Club where Member’s Mark is sold, and PFS’s client will incur more than $100,000 in losses from the missing prawns. (Giovanni Wrobel)
