Two pallets of Zotac-branded Nvidia GeForce RTX 5090 graphics cards have disappeared from the cargo terminal at Guarulhos International Airport (GRU) in São Paulo, Brazil. The shipment, valued at approximately R$2.5 million ($470,000 to $500,000 at acquisition cost), reportedly vanished after being officially logged into the airport’s high-security storage area.
The distributor, Oderço, went public with the incident on October 16, 2026, after failing to receive explanations from airport authorities regarding the missing hardware. According to Oderço president Oderço Matos, the disappearance is particularly suspicious because there is a notable lack of security camera recordings documenting the movement of the pallets, which are too large and heavy to be moved without specialized equipment.
The incident marks a significant breach for Oderço, a company that has operated for 38 years without a cargo loss of this magnitude. The hardware involved—Nvidia’s flagship Blackwell-based GPU—is currently among the most difficult-to-acquire electronics in the global market. In late 2026, the RTX 5090 remains in a state of “unobtainium” for most consumers, with secondary market prices frequently ranging from $5,000 to as high as $9,500 per unit.
The high resale value of the cards provides a clear motive for high-tech cargo theft. Market analysts suggest that current scarcity is being driven by a shift in manufacturing focus toward AI accelerators, which has limited the supply of high-end gaming GPUs. This environment has made large shipments of flagship cards a prime target for organized theft.
As of late October 2026, GRU Airport, the primary international hub for São Paulo, has not issued an official statement regarding the security lapse. The Brazilian Federal Police are expected to investigate, but no suspects have been named and no recovery of the hardware has been reported.
The loss of two full pallets suggests that the items were moved through the terminal using airport logistics tools, yet the absence of a digital or visual trail remains the central mystery of the case. For Oderço, the financial hit is compounded by the inability to fulfill pre-existing orders for the highly anticipated hardware in a market where replacement stock is nearly impossible to secure.
