Six pallets of advanced NVIDIA hardware valued at $11.4 million vanished after departing Oakland, California, on August 29, triggering an ongoing grand-theft investigation by the Oakland Police Department, according to Ars Technica.
The shipment was loaded onto a commercial vehicle bearing the markings of a food-transport company. It was bound for Fort Worth, Texas.
Authorities stated that the transport vehicle dropped off the grid as the vehicle traveled south out of the Bay Area. Its drivers dropped off the grid too, with investigators ultimately losing track of the truck in San Bernardino County.
Police Track Multi-Week Delay in Oakland Theft
The incident was formally reported to local law enforcement on September 13, 2026, according to a statement released by the Oakland Police Department.
The freight departed Oakland on August 29. Supply chain participants only realized the cargo was missing in early September, although the disappearance was not immediately detected.
Investigators examining the route established that the truck made several multi-hour stops during its southward journey. It disappeared entirely in Southern California.
No arrests have been announced. The whereabouts of the six pallets remain unconfirmed.
Experts Expose International Pricing Pressures
Olaf Groth, a professor at the Haas School of Business at the University of California, Berkeley, noted that advanced computing components pack extraordinary financial value into a compact physical volume.
I've learned 2 drivers under subcontract to @FedEx to haul $11.4 M in @nvidia cargo from Oakland to Fort Worth never made it to Texas. Instead, GPS trackers were found in Valencia & Stevenson Ranch (LA Co.) & Upland (San Bernardino Co.). Theft probe underway by @oaklandpoliceca pic.twitter.com/XmT15yUHS1
That volume offers immense incentives for criminal networks.
These chips command about double the price that they command inside the United States. So, if a chip costs about $550,000, then they go for about 1 million or more abroad,
Groth told ABC News.
Groth described advanced processors as a national security asset requiring tighter physical protection. Cargo heists have grown increasingly complex as criminal teams professionalize their operations to target high-demand electronics.
Southern California Men Face Charges for Multimillion Dollar Chip Thefts
In 2025, law enforcement agencies in Fremont and Union City investigated multiple commercial burglaries targeting NVIDIA shipments totaling more than $7.5 million in losses.
Federal prosecutors previously charged six men. Those six Southern California men were charged in connection with a multi-year theft ring that allegedly netted up to $22 million in merchandise, including $7 million in NVIDIA chips taken from a Burlingame warehouse in December 2024.
Investigators say those operations relied on fraudulent vehicle registrations, swapped license plates, and police scanners.
Thieves broke into a warehouse in Newark, California, and stole two semi-trailers co-branded by NVIDIA and PlusAI in a separate incident in September, expecting to secure high-value hardware.
Because cargoes are getting bigger. The heists are getting more complex and that will point toward a professionalization of the teams that are hijacking these.
Olaf Groth, Professor at UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business