Nike Source: NurPhoto / Getty
A major bust turned up over $5 million in stolen Nike products inside a California warehouse, but social media claims that it’s not what it seems.
Over the past few years, Nike has been fighting back against the tomfoolery that comes with the rising popularity of sneakers. The brand has sued a handful of sneaker customizers making carbon copies of their existing product and now is going after stolen goods, at one point even making headlines for a viral cargo theft in Memphis.
Customers are even alleging that delivery drivers are stealing products and delivering empty boxes.
Imagine coming home to this after taking a W on SNKRS 😥
📸 Rustykuntz_ via Reddit pic.twitter.com/lzPN4KazVd
— SiteSupply (@TheSiteSupply) May 3, 2023
According to KTLA, Nike’s Global Security Director, supply chain investigators and California authorities recently made a $5 million bust. After raiding two warehouses in the Los Angeles area, LAPD and Nike allege they found thousands of stolen sneakers, clothing and unique products like samples.
Social Media Provides Context To Nike’s Alleged $5M Bust
LAPD arrested Roy Lee Harvey Jr. after executing a search warrant on a Hawthorne warehouse. Harvey is accused of organized retail theft including receiving stolen goods and redistributing the items. Images shared by the LAPD appear to show products recovered at the warehouse of sneaker shop Project Blitz, but that detail has not been confirmed. There have yet to be any formal charges against the resale outfit.
Social media believes his warehouse was unfairly raided and offered more context to the situation.
My two cents on what I think about the Project Blitz warehouse raid👇
• Nike just wants to make examples out of people, they have no real leads on eliminating cargo theft• Basically everything in the warehouse is legit inventory, charges will get dropped https://t.co/T4b5vSqJsM
— Raphkicks (@Raphkicks) January 30, 2024
Project Blitz is one of the most famous sneaker shops in Los Angeles. We know all these shops buy, trade and sell sneakers 24/7 and 365 days a year. Alleging they have stolen merchandise isn’t far-fetched, but every consignment shop in America could have the same.
Shops like this are known for collecting the rarest of sneakers and buying samples to display for clout and status. The problem is samples and prototypes aren’t supposed to be in the wild and technically would be considered “stolen goods” and could be considered “receiving stolen merchandise.”
Follow-up on this.
I was reached out to and told that Nike is tipping off authorities and that headlines on these stories are wildly exaggerated. If you look carefully, most of this inventory is not stolen. Have stolen shoes cycled through this warehouse? Probably. But not $5M. https://t.co/JhukdFsQxr— Raphkicks (@Raphkicks) January 30, 2024
It’s all about perspective, wordplay and public relations, which Nike knows a thing or two about. It sounds terrible being involved in a $5 million bust. However, it seems a legit sneaker store may have been raided over items they paid for.
We’ll just have to wait and see how all of this plays out.
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