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Somewhere above a quiet Chicago railyard, a drone was doing its job, watching patiently, humming softly, and absolutely not impressed by what it was about to see.
Early in the morning on December 5, while most of the city was asleep and a few insomniacs were still debating late night snacks, a railroad operated drone spotted a burglary in progress at the Norfolk Southern railyard on the city’s South Side. Five people would soon learn an uncomfortable truth. Darkness does not equal invisibility, and drones do not blink.
A Midnight Operation Meets an Uninvited Flying Guest
The incident happened around 12:30 a.m. at the Norfolk Southern railyard located in the 4000 block of South Ashland Avenue. Cook County sheriff’s police were already conducting a joint cargo theft operation with Norfolk Southern Railroad Police, as FOX 32 Chicago reported.
That moment arrived when a railroad operated drone detected three individuals inside the railyard removing boxes from a cargo container. From the drone’s elevated point of view, the scene probably looked less like a daring heist and more like people forgetting they live in the year 2025.
The drone tracked the suspects as they carried boxes across the railyard with purpose and confidence, the kind of confidence that usually comes from assuming no one is watching. Unfortunately for them, someone was watching, from above, quietly recording every step without making a sound or asking awkward questions.
The Slowest Getaway Plan Imaginable
After removing the boxes, the suspects carried them to a minivan parked near Pershing Road and Wolcott Avenue. A minivan, which is not traditionally known as the preferred vehicle of elite criminal masterminds, but certainly practical for hauling cargo containers worth of regret…