Special task force interrupts $1 million LeBron James sneaker heist By Kontji Anthony

MEMPHIS, TN (WMC) -A man accused of trying to steal nearly $1 million of LeBron James sneakers using a trailer didn't get very far thanks to a highly trained task force.

Those who love sneakers say the new LeBron 12 shoes are a hot commodity right now. One pair can go for $250.

"They may do tricks, I don't know," said Memphis resident Tracy Figures.

"A lot of sneak heads think it's worth paying that much for a shoe," added Leroy Golden.

But, investigators say Charles Jennings didn't want to buy the shoes; he wanted to make money off of them.

"Stole a trailer full of LeBron James tennis shoes, which was valued somewhere between $700,000 and $1 million" said Assistant Chief Mark Dunbar, Shelby County Sheriff's Office.

The Memphis Cargo Task Force, which is comprised of members of FBI, U.S. Marshal's Service, Shelby County Sheriff's Office, and Memphis Police Department, says it learned Jennings, an Intermodal Cartage Group employee, used his own I.D. card to leave work with the cargo in tow. He was reportedly captured with the loot on East Holmes Road.

"With the size of that shipment, the odds are not very good you're going to be able to get away with it," Dunbar said.

With Memphis being a top distribution hub for the likes of Nike and FedEx, the task force works day and night.

"We are a target for interstate thefts," said Greg Adams, FBI. "As those items are stolen from the distributors or manufacturers, that drives up the retail cost to the consumer."

Cargo theft is a multi-billion dollar criminal industry.

"If we can arrest the organizations involved in the theft of it, then that also keeps the consumer price down for the retail customer," Adams added.

Out of 7,500 pairs, the task force tracked down about 6,800 of the sneakers that were stolen

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