Thieves target delivery trucks, steal shipments of cigarettes

COWETA COUNTY, Ga. - Some bold thieves have struck again, targeting delivery trucks carry cartons of cigarettes to metro Atlanta convenience stores.

The thieves may be responsible for stealing as much as $30,000 in cigarettes since September around the Atlanta area.

The thieves target delivery trucks and have hit in DeKalb County, Atlanta, College Park, Cobb County, Union City, and now Coweta County.

Police released surveillance video of the last robbery. A delivery truck last Friday made a stop at a McCollum Parkway Chevron station in Coweta County. Investigators say a silver or gray Toyota Camry pulled up like it was going to buy gas. Then pops the trunk and two men get out where the driver has left bins of cigarettes while he goes to the front of the truck.

While one man distracts the driver, another loads the cigarettes up in that Camry. It is a scene that has been repeated at least five times since September.

Just the small amount you see here is expensive, an estimated value of $3,000. In a similar robbery in Marietta, the thieves got away with $13,000, $5,000 in Lithonia, $8,000 in College Park, and $7,000 in Union City. One delivery company has reported 20 such thefts recently and the men might be armed.

Anyone with information on the latest robbery is asked to contact the Coweta County Sheriff’s Office.