Police Recovered $54,000 Worth Of Hot Wheels After A Train Heist

Officers say a 3:00 AM 911 call led them to 350 boxed Hot Wheels on a freight train in Colton.

How Hot Wheels Are Made

Photo by: Tim Stevens / Motor1

Brian Potter

By: Brian Potter

Oct 27, at 7:41am ET

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Colton, California police say a $54,000 shipment of toy cars never made it past the rail yard. Officers responding to a reported train burglary around 3 a.m. on October 20 recovered 350 boxes of Hot Wheels cars after a tip sent them to a pickup truck loading merchandise near the tracks.

A 20-year-old driver was arrested at the scene and booked on suspicion of burglary, possession of stolen property, and grand theft. Detectives are still working out whether anyone else was involved in pulling the boxes off the freight cars.

350 Boxes Of Hot Wheels Cars Recovered

Hot Wheels 1952 Dodge Power Wagon Exclusive

Hot Wheels 1952 Dodge Power Wagon Exclusive

The boxes came off a BNSF freight train parked near Mason Street, according to the Los Angeles Times. Officers counted all 350 boxes and police put the total value at $54,000, a haul large enough to draw comparisons to cargo theft targeting dealerships.

"To have an arrest of that extremity, it's a big deal," Colton Police Department spokesperson Jillian Nunez said. Her comment reflects how unusual it is for officers to recover an entire shipment intact rather than finding it already broken up and resold.

Freight trains moving through the Inland Empire corridor routinely carry retail goods between the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach and distribution hubs further east, making them a recurring target. Residents near the tracks told local reporters they feared retaliation for discussing train thefts on camera, suggesting the burglary was not an isolated event in that stretch.

Police have not said how the Hot Wheels shipment was packaged or which retailer it was bound for, and those details remain undisclosed. What is confirmed is the box count and the dollar figure, both of which match across the department's public statements.

The 911 Call

How Hot Wheels Are Made

Hot Wheels Display Case

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A caller told dispatchers around 3 a.m. that people were loading boxes into a black pickup at the end of a cul-de-sac near West Maple Street and South La Cadena Drive. That call triggered the response that led officers to the suspect vehicle.

An officer positioned under a nearby bridge spotted the truck and followed it once it left the area, according to police accounts of the stop. The pursuit ended with a stop that led to the driver's arrest without further incident described in police statements.

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The suspect was booked into West Valley Detention Center on suspicion of burglary, possession of stolen property, and grand theft. He was later released on bail, according to county jail records, and no additional arrests had been announced as detectives continued investigating.

Police have not disclosed how the suspect was connected to the original burglary report or whether surveillance footage from the rail yard played a role in building the case. Those gaps mean the investigation is still open, even with the merchandise recovered and one person in custody.