Memphis Thieves Rob FedEx, UPS Delivery Trucks

Glenn Taylor
·4 min read
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Tennessee delivery drivers for FedEx and UPS were subject to truck robberies in Memphis on Tuesday, with the suspects remaining at large.

Memphis Police Department officers first responded to an armed robbery call around noon at 7213 Winchester Road in the southeastern Hickory Hill region of the city, where packages were stolen from the FedEx truck.

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No injuries have been reported, according to police.

The suspects haven’t been identified, but are said to be four males wearing ski masks and all-black clothing. They fled in a maroon or red SUV with gray rims and tinted windows, according to surveillance footage.

Police said the investigation is ongoing. Sourcing Journal reached out to FedEx for comment.

Citing the Memphis Data Hub, local TV news affiliate WREG-TV reported there have been six incidents of burglary and theft within a quarter mile of the location in the past year. Omar Ali, the owner a smoke shop near from the theft, told WREG that his store has been broken into four times in two years.

Roughly 15 miles north of the FedEx robbery around 5 p.m., officers responded to the 2500 block of Appling Road regarding a theft from a UPS truck. Packages were stolen from the idle truck while an employee was making deliveries, according to police.

Video footage of the theft showed the driver putting the truck in park, before loading up numerous packages on a dolly and exiting to deliver them. Shortly after, a dark-colored car parked directly behind the vehicle, with three suspects entering the truck and stealing numerous items.

The three suspects got out and drove off before the driver returned to the vehicle.

Police have not released a description of the suspects.

“We are aware of the incident involving members of our team,” a UPS spokeperson said. “The safety and well-being of our employees is our number one concern. Drivers are taught to be aware of their surroundings and to report anything they consider unsafe to the police and their local management team. We work with local law enforcement across the country to stay abreast of crime in specific areas and take appropriate measures if criminal activity becomes a concern.”

It’s not clear if the two incidents are connected.

Memphis, where FedEx is headquartered, has been a breeding ground of sorts for cargo and retail theft, likely due to its positioning as a major shipping and transportation hub. In September 2022, more than $800,000 in Nike merchandise was stolen from a local distribution center when thieves broke into more than 20 trailers. In November last year roughly 40 suspects raided a FedEx semi-trailer as part of a larger operation resulting in $15,000 worth of stolen merchandise.

Nationwide, delivery truck robberies and carjackings seemed to surge leading into the holidays. November incidents in the span of less than a week affected UPS and Amazon drivers—bookended by two thefts near Washington, D.C.

Later that month an Amazon delivery driver in the San Francisco Bay Area was kidnapped on the job, and forced to withdraw cash from a Bank of America ATM before being released. And a week before Christmas, a Florida woman was arrested for trailing an Amazon delivery van near Orlando, and stealing packages she planned to give as gifts.

On Dec. 27, an Amazon driver in Chicago was carjacked at gunpoint and had their vehicle stolen before it was found six blocks away.

And on New Year’s Eve, another Amazon driver fell victim to a similar theft in Ohio. But this time, the suspect stole over 100 packages, roughly 80 percent of the delivery haul that the truck was carrying. The incident remains under investigation.

According to data from home security research company SafeWise, nearly 119 million parcels were stolen in 2023, with Amazon delivering more than half of those being those.

SafeWise indicated that 65 percent of the 5,000 U.S. residents it surveyed said they were more worried about package theft in 2023 than they were a year prior. Using $50 as an estimated average cost per package, delivery theft accounted for up to $6 billion in losses—5 percent higher than 2022, according to SafeWise projections.