LOS ANGELES — It’s happened again: Thieves using fake manifests have made off with a half a million dollars worth of seafood.

This time, it was 12.5 tons of king crab.

According to a report in the Seattle Times, when the driver picked up the load last Monday in L.A., everything looked kosher from the dispatcher’s point of view. Instead the truck disappeared.

When the crab failed to arrive in Seattle Wednesday, the carriers who had arranged the shipment, New Sound Transportation of Fife, Wash., investigated and learned that the driver’s credentials were fake.

This type of fraud — thieves creating fake trucking companies and intercepting loads of food (even perishables)  – – is increasingly common as food prices soar.

This heist was first reported by Seafood.com, which publishes the lot numbers of the stolen seafood.

The load was owned by Vitan Enterprises, and the owner, Andrew Feoktistov is asking that anyone who might have any information contact him at info@vitanseafood.com.

Don’t miss the June issue of Today’s Trucking for a full report of how carriers are dealing with the supply chain pressures from the rising food and fuel parallel.