Two men allegedly posed as FedEx drivers and collected a trailer loaded with more than $680,000 in electronics from a New Castle warehouse on Sept. 14. The trailer was found the next day in a Newark shopping-center lot, and 35-year-old Dushatdaman Parihar was arrested after approaching the rig while troopers were on scene. Authorities say the paperwork, licenses and registration were forged; the cargo was recovered and returned. Parihar faces multiple felony charges and the investigation is ongoing.
Fake FedEx Drivers Allegedly Seize $680,000 in Electronics — One Returned to Truck and Was Arrested
File photo; not the vehicle involved in the Delaware case. Photo: Ildar Sagdejev (Specious) /Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Delaware State Police say two men posing as FedEx drivers hooked a trailer and drove off with more than $680,000 in electronics from a New Castle warehouse on Sept. 14 — but the plot unraveled the next day when the trailer was found parked in a Newark shopping-center lot and one suspect walked back toward the rig while troopers were on scene.
The police release identifies 35-year-old Dushatdaman Parihar of Manteca, California, as an arrested suspect. Authorities say the men arrived at a business on the 1100 block of River Road at about 9:15 a.m., presented driver's licenses and shipping paperwork that matched a specific trailer, hitched a tractor cab to that trailer, and left. Shortly afterward the company discovered the paperwork had been forged.
On Sept. 15, the company located the tractor-trailer parked at University Plaza near I‑95 and Route 273 and called 911. While troopers were speaking with the caller, officers observed a man walking toward the trailer and stopped him. Police later identified the man as Parihar.
According to state police, the driver's licenses used at the warehouse and the rig's registration plate were fraudulent. Parihar was arrested without incident and charged with felony theft of property valued at $100,000 or more, first- and second-degree forgery, second-degree conspiracy, and possession of a fictitious registration plate. He was arraigned in Justice of the Peace Court and committed to the Department of Correction on a $66,550 secured bond. Police say he acted with a partner; investigators have not named a second suspect or reported a second arrest.
The trailer was returned to the company and state police say every piece of cargo remained inside.
Industry Context
The scheme described by police is known in the freight industry as a "fictitious pickup," where someone impersonates an authorized carrier and collects a load not intended for them. Cargo-theft tracker CargoNet recorded 158 fictitious pickups nationwide in Q2 2026 and estimated losses of $304.6 million for the quarter, with an average reported theft value of about $564,009 — making this Delaware case consistent with recent trends.
CargoNet says many sophisticated thefts now begin with business email compromise (hijacked inboxes, spoofed carriers and rerouted loads), but this incident appears to have been executed in person using forged paperwork, fake IDs and a bogus plate. The case highlights how much freight security still depends on paper verification and raises questions about what additional checks warehouses should require before releasing high-value loads.
Note: The charges against Parihar are allegations; he has not been convicted. The Delaware State Police Criminal Investigations Unit continues to investigate.
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