Inside The 2023 Panini Burglary (Updated Police Report)
A detailed analysis of the May 2023 Panini America burglary in Irving, Texas, revealing a highly sophisticated theft involving entry through an adjacent building, disabled alarms, stolen surveillance equipment, and missing inventory. The investigation stalled after DNA evidence collected from blood samples was rejected by the lab after a 2-year wait, leaving the case suspended with no suspects charged.
Summary
On May 28, 2023, Panini America's Irving, Texas office was burglarized in what appears to be a carefully planned and executed theft. The burglars entered through a neighboring building by cutting through drywall and insulation in three separate locations along a shared wall, then made additional holes near the office door to unlock it from the inside. They disabled four alarm panels and compromised the main control systems. Notably, the equipment storing surveillance camera footage was stolen, eliminating video evidence of the crime. Police estimated the theft occurred between 12:30 a.m. and noon on Sunday, based on alarm notifications received by an employee at 4 a.m. Saturday, 12:30 a.m. and 12:45 a.m. Sunday, and a call from Italy at noon. Panini reported that at least one, possibly two pallets of sports cards were stolen, including basketball, football, UFC, and WWE cards from 2021-2023, though exact quantities and values remain unknown. The forensic scientist noted that the robbers appeared to be experienced criminals with knowledge of the facility, as they spent several hours carefully selecting and stacking merchandise near exits. A white van was spotted leaving around the time an employee arrived at the building. Police collected fingerprints from crime scene items (no matches) and blood samples from a saw handle and alarm panel, which were submitted to UNT's Human Identification Center in June 2023 for DNA testing. However, in a September 2025 update (nearly 2 years later), the lab notified police that it no longer accepts property crime cases and would not process the evidence, instead returning it to police custody. A significant investigative challenge emerged: Panini had weak inventory control with valuable merchandise scattered throughout offices and common areas, and the company failed to provide exact counts or identification of stolen cards, making it impossible to link merchandise later offered for sale to the theft. Panini employees identified a seller they believed might be involved or selling stolen property, providing email correspondence about merchandise matching the missing cards, but the detective determined there was insufficient evidence to charge this person of interest. The case was subsequently closed or suspended with no suspects charged and no forensic DNA results obtained.
Key Insights
- The burglars entered Panini through a neighboring building by cutting through drywall and insulation in three separate locations, indicating this was a highly calculated theft by experienced criminals rather than opportunistic smash-and-grab robbery
- The surveillance camera recording equipment itself was stolen, meaning investigators never obtained video evidence of who committed the theft, despite the building having cameras installed
- Panini had security guards only during business hours with no night security, and employees repeatedly received false alarm alerts which created complacency when real breaches occurred on the weekend
- The lab rejected DNA evidence after a 2-year wait, stating it prioritizes crimes against persons and no longer accepts property crime cases, leaving collected blood samples from the saw handle and alarm panel unanalyzed
- Panini failed to provide exact inventory counts of stolen cards, making it impossible for police to definitively connect merchandise later offered for sale to the actual theft, even when suspicious sales patterns matched the stolen goods
Topics
Transcript
[0:00] Are you ready for this? You are not ready for this. I have 42 pages, the full police report, everything about the Panini robbery that happened in May 2023. It seemed like they just went in and stole the servers with the data, but I actually dug really deep into the subject, and there's something wild there. So, someone breaks into Panini. They cut through walls, turn off the alarm, and take away the equipment that stores [0:31] the video surveillance footage. Panini later tells police that at least one pallet, possibly two pallets, of sports cards is missing. But the part that really caught my attention came over 2 years later as an update. The police submitted possible…
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