Tens of thousands of cans of Pabst beer were stolen in two separate heists from a southern California warehouse on 17 August, police have said. The thefts, valued by police at $70,000, occurred at an Anheuser-Busch distribution centre about 40 miles (65 km) east of Los Angeles.
Police in Montclair said on Friday that investigators are trying to determine if the two incidents were part of a single operation. In the first heist, approximately $45,000 worth of beer intended for Tucson, Arizona, was picked up but reportedly never delivered. An hour later, a "purported subcontracting company" submitted fake documents to collect another $25,000 worth of beer, according to Montclair police.
Roughly 34,000 cans of Pabst Blue Ribbon and non-alcoholic Old Milwaukee beer, amounting to more than 1,500 cases, were stolen, a police report obtained by the Los Angeles Times stated. Pabst Blue Ribbon has since used the thefts as a social media promotion, putting the weight of the stolen cargo at 40,000 pounds (18,145 kg) in Instagram posts and starting a countdown for its return.