In a series of baffling and costly crimes that have shaken parts of New England’s seafood industry, tens of thousands of oysters, an untold amount of crabmeat and roughly $400,000 worth of lobster meat were stolen in three separate incidents that unfolded over the past six weeks, raising alarm among authorities, seafood producers and logistics firms.
The wave of thefts began on November 22, when 14 cages filled with oysters were reported missing from an aquaculture site in Casco Bay near Falmouth, Maine. The cages, which held around 40,000 oysters nearing market readiness, were valued at approximately $20,000 — a significant loss for the small business owner affected, state officials said. Maine Marine Patrol Sgt. Matthew Sinclair described the situation as “devastating” for the local operator, emphasizing both the financial blow and the logistical challenges that come with replacing mature shellfish so close to harvest time.
Within the next two weeks, the focus of the thefts shifted south to Taunton, Massachusetts. On December 2, a shipment of crabmeat disappeared after being dispatched from a refrigerated warehouse operated by Lineage Logistics. Investigators and industry insiders are still piecing together exactly how the crabmeat was taken, but the loss added to a troubling pattern of seafood thefts in the region.
The most striking of the incidents occurred on December 12, when a shipment of processed lobster meat bound for Costco stores in Illinois and Minnesota was fraudulently collected and never reached its intended destination. The $400,000 consignment had been under the care of Rexing Companies, a freight brokerage based in Indiana, when criminals posing as a legitimate trucking firm intercepted the load. The perpetrators reportedly used a spoofed email address, altered truck signage and counterfeit credentials to convince warehouse personnel they were authorized to pick up the cargo. Once the truck left the facility, onboard tracking was disabled and the shipment vanished.
Dylan Rexing, CEO of Rexing Companies, decried the complex nature of the theft, calling it a “very sophisticated crime.” He noted that impersonation schemes like this represent a troubling evolution in cargo theft tactics, where fraud replaces the brute force hijackings of years past. Local police have confirmed they are investigating both the lobster and crab cases, though no arrests have been announced. Neither Lineage Logistics, Costco nor Taunton law enforcement offered public comment by press time.
Industry experts say the New England seafood thefts reflect a broader national rise in high-value cargo crimes, especially those involving easily resold goods like food products. Chris Burroughs, president of the Transportation Intermediaries Association, explained that freight theft generally falls into two categories: one where criminals impersonate legitimate carriers to abscond with shipments, and another involving cyber-enabled schemes that exploit digital systems. Both have become more common in recent years as organized theft rings adapt to vulnerabilities in supply chain operations.
Because lobster meat and shellfish are highly perishable, officials believe the stolen goods were likely sold quickly — possibly to restaurants or through illicit secondary markets — rather than recovered. Beyond the immediate losses borne by individual producers and shippers, freight theft drives up costs across the logistics chain, ultimately affecting consumers who pay higher prices for goods due to increased security measures and insurance costs.
As the FBI and local police continue to investigate, seafood businesses across New England are reviewing their security protocols, wary that the recent spate of thefts could presage more incidents in a supply chain already strained by labor shortages, weather impacts and rising demand.
