A few weeks ago, it was reported that a shipment of rare EVGA GeForce RTX 30-series graphics cards had been stolen mid-transit from a trucking unit in southern California. The truck was en-route from San Fransisco to an NVIDIA distribution center when it was set upon by thieves who cleaned out the entire shipment of graphics cards worth anywhere between $329.99 and $1959.99 apiece.
In the weeks since, there has been no further update on the status of the police investigation underway, however -- as the resale market for limited-supply tech and gaming pieces explodes -- NVIDIA and EVGA have both stated that the serial numbers of the stolen graphics cards are known by authorities and attempts to register a warranty on them could get you a visit by law enforcement.
This isn't the first time gamers -- or opportunists in search of easily-fenced loot -- went full-blown GTA in real life to get their hands on scarce parts. Last year, thieves made off with $30,000 worth of super high-end RTX-3090s from a factory in China.
The theft and others like it come in the backdrop of global supply chain issues that have numerous industries racing to try and meet even a portion of the skyrocketing demand. Nowhere more so is this clear than gaming, where customers are facing long delays and an unduly competitive rat race just to get their hands on PC parts, next-gen consoles and other hardware that has been "out" for quite some time.
With most predictions stating that supply will continue to be bottle-necked until as late as 2023, otherwise Onion-worthy headlines like these may only become more commonplace.
If you suspect an RTX-30 series graphic card in your possession may be stolen, you can check by trying to register it at the EVGA My Products page, or by checking its warranty status. If you have any tips/information related to the theft or the stolen graphics cards, you can email them to stopRTX30theft@evga.com.
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