Group of 6 men steals 3,000 pounds of frozen crab from tractor-trailer in Philadelphia, police say

A tractor-trailer driver hauling frozen snow crab had some of his cargo taken as he slept in his truck in Southwest Philadelphia, police said.

Police were called out to the 3400 block of Island Avenue just before 5 a.m. and spoke to the truck driver.

The driver told police he was asleep in the truck when he awoke to the sounds of movement outside. He peered through the window and saw six men removing the boxes of crab from the truck.

When the driver got out, one of the men chased him down the street.

The group of men fled in a gray Ford F-150 pickup truck and a gray Dodge Caravan minivan.

Police estimate the group's total catch amounted to two pallets of frozen snow crab, or about 100 30-pound boxes of the frozen seafood.

Earlier this month, a group of masked men stole about five pallets of beef from a tractor-trailer in Northeast Philadelphia. The suspects in that case left in a Ford F-150 and a Jeep, according to police.

Police say sleeping truck drivers are often targeted as they wait for their appointed delivery time in the morning.