Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg announced on June 3, 2026 the indictment of eight men accused of running a wide-ranging interstate cargo-theft conspiracy that impersonated legitimate shipping carriers to steal nearly $5 million in goods from logistics centers across three states.

The scheme

According to the DA’s office, the defendants used fraudulently obtained shipment information to pose as legitimate freight companies, then collected and made off with cargo staged at logistics sites in Pennsylvania, Virginia and New Jersey. The haul was eclectic and high-value: more than $3.3 million in cigarettes, $432,000 in cheese, $295,000 in beef, more than $266,000 in copper, and $165,000 in lamb, prosecutors said.

“We allege these defendants operated a wide-ranging and brazen, multimillion-dollar interstate retail theft conspiracy that impacted businesses and consumers around the country,” Bragg said in announcing the charges.

The eight men indicted are Murodullo Khasanov, Nodir Kobilov, Shavkatbek Mamadjanov, Rakhmiddin Abdullaev, Aleksey Vorobyev, Nizom Ismoilov, Doston Mardoev and Dilshod Nabiev. Each faces one count of conspiracy in the fourth degree along with varying counts of grand larceny in the first and second degrees and criminal possession of stolen property in the first and second degrees.

A multi-agency build

The case drew an unusually broad roster of partners for a district attorney’s prosecution, reflecting its interstate reach. Bragg’s office credited the NYPD, the New York City Business Integrity Commission, FBI New York and FBI Philadelphia, the New Jersey State Police, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, the Vineland, New Jersey police department, and the cargo-theft industry intelligence group CargoNet.

That cross-jurisdictional coordination is the operational signature of the modern organized-retail-theft case, in which goods are stolen in one state, fenced in another, and the financial nexus surfaces in a third. Routing the prosecution through Manhattan reflects where the office determined the conspiracy could be charged.

Part of a broader enforcement push

The indictment fits a pattern Bragg has built over his tenure. One of his first acts as district attorney was to create the Manhattan Small Business Alliance, a standing group of business owners, business-improvement-district leaders, police and community organizations that meets to analyze theft data and develop prosecutions and policy recommendations. His office has framed organized retail theft — distinct from individual shoplifting — as a priority, targeting the crews and fencing operations that move stolen goods at scale rather than low-level offenders.

The cargo-theft case is a notably large example of that strategy, dwarfing the dollar value of a typical storefront-theft prosecution and reaching well beyond Manhattan’s borders.

The political context

Bragg, a Democrat who won national attention for the 2024 hush-money prosecution of Donald Trump, has faced persistent criticism from the right that his office is soft on crime — a charge rooted in a 2022 memo that scaled back prosecution of certain low-level offenses and that his office later partially walked back. Large, multi-agency organized-theft indictments like this one cut against that narrative and underscore the distinction his office draws between de-emphasizing minor offenses and aggressively pursuing organized criminal enterprises.

The case now proceeds toward arraignment and pretrial litigation in Manhattan Supreme Court. An indictment is an accusation; the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until convicted.

Verification

Frequently Asked Questions

What did Manhattan DA Bragg announce on June 3, 2026?
An indictment of eight men accused of running a multistate cargo-theft conspiracy that impersonated shipping carriers and stole nearly $5 million in goods from logistics centers in Pennsylvania, Virginia and New Jersey.
What was stolen?
Cargo including more than $3.3 million in cigarettes, $432,000 in cheese, $295,000 in beef, $266,000-plus in copper, and $165,000 in lamb, per the DA's office.
What charges do the defendants face?
Each faces conspiracy in the fourth degree plus varying counts of grand larceny in the first and second degrees and criminal possession of stolen property in the first and second degrees.
Which agencies worked the case?
The Manhattan DA's office, NYPD, the NYC Business Integrity Commission, FBI New York and FBI Philadelphia, New Jersey State Police, the Port Authority, Vineland (NJ) Police and the industry group CargoNet.