Gary M. Restaino, U.S. Attorney | U.S. Attorney for the District of Arizona
On February 11, 2025, a grand jury indicted Noe Cecena-Castro and ten others for possessing stolen Nike shoes valued at over $440,000. The shoes were taken from a BNSF train in Northern Arizona. This incident is part of ongoing thefts targeting trains in Northern Arizona and California.
Criminal groups involved in these thefts are primarily composed of Mexican nationals with ties to the Mexican State of Sinaloa. These groups use a method involving cutting air hoses to stop trains carrying valuable cargo. Once stopped, they break into specific containers and unload the goods alongside the tracks. Another crew then arrives with box trucks or other vehicles to transport the stolen items to California for online sale.
The recent indictment relates to an event on January 13, 2025, where Noe Cecena-Castro and ten others allegedly packed and transported about 1,900 pairs of unreleased Nike shoes. A BNSF train was halted due to a cut air hose in Perrin, Arizona. A BNSF police officer found several cases of Nike shoes beside the tracks at the location where the train stopped. Law enforcement discovered a U-Haul truck and a Ford Econoline truck near the site containing 1,985 pairs of unreleased Nike shoes worth over $440,000. A Chevy Tahoe seen in the area was also stopped; it carried more members of the group who had loaded the Nike cases.
Nine out of eleven defendants are Mexican nationals without legal status in the United States. Besides possession charges, three defendants face Re-entry of Removed Alien charges and six face Improper Entry by Alien charges.
An indictment is only an allegation and not proof of guilt; individuals are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond reasonable doubt by evidence presented to a jury.
All defendants remain in federal custody awaiting trial with arraignment scheduled for February 19, 2025.
Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Flagstaff leads this investigation while Assistant U.S. Attorney Parker Stanley prosecutes it. The U.S. Attorney’s Office acknowledges support from various law enforcement agencies including BNSF Police Team and several county sheriff's offices across Arizona.
