Overview
- A fully loaded Pabst truck disappeared after a scheduled pickup from an Anheuser‑Busch distribution center in Montclair on Aug. 17, leaving about 40,000 pounds of beer missing.
- Montclair investigators say a second, related pickup occurred roughly an hour later using allegedly fraudulent paperwork and the two incidents together amount to roughly $70,000 in lost product.
- Pabst has made a public appeal on Instagram that included an 18‑day, 44‑minute no‑questions‑asked deadline for return and an offer of a reward and partial cash return if the beer is recovered.
- Police say records for the trucking company, driver and vehicles contain discrepancies, investigators have not named suspects, and the probe into whether the two takeoffs were coordinated is active.
- Cargo thieves often exploit subcontracting and paperwork gaps at distribution centers, a pattern that can send stolen goods into resale channels and raise costs and security burdens for distributors and retailers.