Federal law enforcement agencies last week announced that a citizen of Uzbekistan in the U.S. legally has been charged in connection with an elaborate cargo theft ring.
David X. Sullivan, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, and P.J. O’Brien, Special Agent in Charge of the New Haven Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, today announced that Nursulton Izzatulloevich Khaydarov, 33 has been charged for his alleged involvement in the theft of numerous trucking cargo shipments, according to a statement from Sullivan's office.
As alleged in court documents and statements made in court, a Homeland Security Task Force has been investigating numerous cargo thefts from locations in California and elsewhere.
The investigation revealed that, since about September 2025, Khaydarov and others purchased or otherwise assumed control of multiple motor carriers, including their U.S. Department of Transportation numbers, motor carrier identification numbers, business email accounts, and the identities of their owners. They then posed as the previous business owner to obtain contracts for interstate shipments.
Once they negotiated a contract with a freight broker for an interstate shipment, a driver picked up the shipment from the distribution location. However, the load did not make it to its intended destination and was subsequently reported stolen. At times, co-conspirators made ransom demands for the return of the stolen load, according to the statement from Sullivan.
The indictment alleges that Khaydarov had a valid New Jersey commercial driver’s license. He also possessed fraudulent driver’s licenses in the names of “Sayid Makhmudarov,” “Rustam Mavlonov,” “Dmitri Aganin,” “Roman Smirov,” and “Kairat Nurtas.” Sullivan's statement said the driver’s licenses depicted a photograph of Khaydarov, but with altered facial features.
It is alleged that the conspiracy has involved thefts of a least 24 cargo loads containing hard drives, stereo equipment, clothing, electronics, computer equipment, food items, nicotine products, and other goods. To date, the estimated retail value of the stolen products of the cargo thefts Khaydarov was personally involved in is more than $12 million, according to Sullivan.
Khaydarov was arrested on a federal criminal complaint on June 1, in Ontario, California. On Sept. 22, a federal grand jury in New Haven returned an indictment charging Khaydarov with conspiracy, an offense that carries a maximum term of imprisonment of five years.
Khaydarov appeared in Bridgeport federal court Oct. 21 and pleaded not guilty to the charge. He has been detained since his arrest.
Sullivan stressed that an indictment is not evidence of guilt. Charges are only allegations, and a defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
Anyone with information relevant to this ongoing investigation is encouraged to contact the FBI New Haven Field Office at (203) 777-6311.
