Police officers said they briefly chased a group of would-be meat robbers after thwarting the heist in South Philadelphia early Tuesday.
It all started just 2 a.m. on March 11, 2025, when someone backed a box truck up to a tractor-trailer parked along South 7th Street, outside of the Sysco warehouse, police said. The thieves then started unloaded boxes of beef from the big rig into the box truck.
Stream Philadelphia News for free, 24/7, wherever you are with NBC10.
WATCH HEREThe tractor-trailer driver was taking a nap in his cab at the time, police said. It's a common practice for truck drivers to sleep once parked.
"He felt his trailer swaying," police said later on Tuesday. "Looking into his side rearview mirror, he saw four males removing boxes from his trailer and loading them into a white 2002 Ford truck that had been backed up to his trailer."
Get top local Philly stories delivered to you every morning with NBC Philadelphia's News Headlines newsletter.
SIGN UP The truck driver then called police.
Officers arrived on the scene before the thieves made off with the beef.
The suspects took off in a separate getaway vehicle -- a black SUV -- and a brief chase through the city ensued, police said. That chase was called off after several miles as officers lost the SUV near 4th Street and Girard Avenue on the edge of the Northern Liberties neighborhood.
Local
Breaking news and the stories that matter to your neighborhood.
"A total of 184 boxes of beef had been taken from the trailer and placed into the abandoned truck, which was left running," police said. "The stolen boxes were recovered and returned to the driver’s trailer."
It turns out the box truck had stolen plates on it.
"Further investigation revealed that the license plate on the white truck was not registered to that vehicle," police said. "When police contacted the registered owner of the plate, he reported that it had been stolen from his 2012 Ford truck."
No arrests were immediately made and the investigation continued.
Sign up for our Breaking newsletter to get the most urgent news stories in your inbox.
