A suspected cargo theft in California took an unexpected turn after 2 trailers carrying Nvidia and PlusAI branding were stolen, only for the thieves to find that the trailers contained around 40,000 pounds of sand instead of expensive technology equipment.
The trailers, used by PlusAI for autonomous truck research and development, were recovered on Thursday afternoon, according to the Fremont Police Department.
The incident came to light when an acquaintance of a PlusAI executive spotted the trailers near their workplace in Newark, California. The person sent the executive a message congratulating the company on its progress. However, the trailers were not meant to be there and had been parked outside a nearby PlusAI warehouse.
According to police, the trailers were taken after someone connected them to their own truck cabs and drove away. The thieves later broke open the trailers, which had been secured with hand locks.
PlusAI told police that the trailers contained simulated loads used for research and development testing. Each trailer carried around 20,000 pounds of sand, bringing the total to approximately 40,000 pounds, or about 18.1 metric tonnes.
The company’s truck cabs, which contain the technology used to test autonomous driving systems, remained inside the warehouse and were not stolen. PlusAI also confirmed that the sand was still intact when the trailers were recovered.
The Fremont Police Department said the investigation is ongoing and that no arrests have been made. Nvidia had not immediately responded to requests for comment at the time of reporting.
The incident comes amid reports of cargo theft involving expensive technology equipment in the US. Data centre hardware, computer chips and networking equipment have increasingly become targets for organised theft.
In August, 2 incidents in California reportedly involved vehicles carrying high-value technology cargo. In those cases, vehicles with security escorts were diverted, while millions of dollars worth of equipment had reportedly not been recovered at the time.
Other reported cargo thefts have involved Tesla batteries and cryptocurrency mining machines.
According to cargo risk analytics firm Verisk CargoNet, metals and enterprise-grade computer and networking equipment have been among the common targets of cargo theft in recent months across the US.
In the PlusAI case, however, the stolen trailers were recovered on the same day, with the unexpected cargo of sand still intact.
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