Car found burning on I-95, with smoking meat inside, may be connected to Philly cargo heist: Source

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- A car found burning on I-95 may be connected to Thursday's beef cargo heist, where thieves were able to get away with nearly $10,000 worth of frozen beef.

New photos, released exclusively to Action News, show one of the possible getaway vehicles.

The photos come after Action News also obtained exclusive footage of the heist in progress.

An Action News source says emergency crews responded to a burning Dodge Journey on I-95, near the Aramingo Avenue exit, just before 5 a.m. on Thursday, shortly after the cargo theft.

Firefighters extinguished the flames and then found piles of smoking meat inside.

More cases of meat had been thrown over the side of the highway, landing on the train tracks below.

They were the same Upper Iowa Beef boxes that were taken from the tractor-trailer.

The theft happened at around 4 a.m. along the 5200 block of Devereaux Street in the Wissinoming section, investigators said.

In the video, you first can see the group of thieves drive up before unloading the boxes of meat from a parked truck.

Police say the thieves cut the rear padlock and stole five pallets of frozen beef, which are said to be worth $10,000.

This is the fourth cargo theft in Philadelphia within a month.

"It's likely the same crew. We haven't made the connection yet," said Capt. John Ryan, commanding officer of Northeast Detectives.

This comes after 3,000 lbs. of crab legs were stolen from a semi in Southwest Philadelphia on Tuesday.

That cargo theft happened around 4 a.m. on Tuesday in the 3600 block of Island Avenue.

Earlier this month, suspects stole more than $40,000 worth of beef from a truck in Northeast Philadelphia. It followed a late September beef theft in South Philadelphia.

Action News has made calls to state police and Philadelphia police to find out if anyone was taken into custody.

Action News Reporter Corey Davis asked detectives, "Do you know if they sell these on the secondary market?"

Ryan said, "Well, I'm sure it's not for personal consumption with the sheer volume of the five pallets. It's an enormous amount of meat."

Investigators said they are encouraging trucking companies and private contractors to use hardened steel locks to at least slow thieves down.

Police said they are also increasing patrols in areas where truckers usually park while advising them to choose well-lit areas.