Frozen crab legs, freshly minted dimes, and televisions were just some of of the items targeted by Haneef Palmer, aka Lew, and his co-conspirators in the $1.5 million cargo theft, according to David Metcalf, of the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Eastern District of Pennsylvania.

Last week, it was announced that Palmer was sentenced to 121 months in prison, three years of supervised release, and $1,080,786.44 in restitution.

As detailed in court filings and statements, between January 1, 2023, and July 31, 2023, Palmer conspired with co-defendants to steal goods moving as parts of interstate shipments located on tractor trailers around Philadelphia.

While unattended trailers were targeted overnight or as the driver slept, suspects used bolt cutters and other tools to break into the trailer and steal the cargo inside. Then, the goods were offered for sale to local contacts.

Palmer admitted to participating in the robbery of a tractor trailer carrying commercial refrigerators on April 1, 2023, during which he and others attacked and injured the driver, and to participating in the theft of over $230,000 worth of U.S. dimes on April 13, 2023, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.

The large-scale cargo theft conspiracy totaled more than $1.5 million from more than 10 victims.

Palmer pleaded guilty in March 2026 to one count each of conspiracy, robbery interfering with interstate commerce (Hobbs Act robbery), possession of items from interstate shipment theft, theft of government money, and possession of stolen government money, and five counts of theft from an interstate shipment.

A co-conspirator, Rakiem Savage, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, was also sentenced for his role in the cargo thefts and received 108 months’ imprisonment, three years of supervised release, and a $1,300 special assessment.

In addition, Savage was ordered to pay restitution in each case — $234,474.80 in a cargo theft conspiracy and $37,425 in a racketeering conspiracy.

A third co-conspirator, Salahudin Reddy, was sentenced to 94 months’ imprisonment and three years of supervised release.

Reddy admitted to participating in thefts of hundreds of thousands of dollars’ worth of frozen crab legs on April 4, 2023, and again on April 6, 2023; the theft of over $360,000 worth of Samsung televisions on April 10, 2023; and the theft of over $230,000 worth of U.S. dimes on April 13, 2023.

The case was investigated by the FBI and the Philadelphia Police Department and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Alexander Bowerman and Christopher Diviny.