Migrants who allegedly stole wallets and cellphones from at least 62 women were photographed leaving a New York City police station after being arrested in a raid on Monday.
Police arrested at least seven migrants, all believed to be from Venezuela, at a safe house in the Bronx after executing a search warrant.
Two of the migrants, Cleyber Andrade, 20, and Juan Uzcatgui, 23, were seen leaving the First Precinct in Manhattan on Monday evening. Andrade was charged with 25 grand thefts and Uzcatugi was charged with 20 grand thefts, according to WABC.
Roxanna Sahos, 24, was charged with tampering with evidence and Alexander Dayker, 20, was charged with criminal possession of stolen property.
One of the most shocking thefts a A migrant on a moped dragged a 52-year-old woman down a Big Apple street to steal her phone – a robbery caught on surveillance footage.
Migrants who were part of a crime gang that allegedly stole wallets and cellphones from at least 62 women were pictured leaving a New York City police station
Two of the migrants, Andrade Cleyber, 20, and Juan Uzcatgui, 23, were walked out of Manhattan’s first district
Cleyber was charged with 25 grand thefts and Uzcatugi was charged with 20 grand thefts
The scooter thief allegedly stole her purse, phone, credit cards, keys, glasses, $60 cash and her ID in Brooklyn’s Sheepshead Bay neighborhood last month.
Police are looking for the leader of a group of migrant ‘ghost criminals’ believed to be behind the gang of criminals robbing people. Pix11.
Victor Parra, 30, is the Venezuelan migrant said to be the leader of the group that uses mopeds to rob people and steal phones.
‘He’s the big target. (He) caused a lot of trouble in New York City,” Officer Nicholas Fiore said.
Parra allegedly recruited migrants using WhatsApp messages telling them to steal specific phone models, investigators said.
Police said the messages would say: ‘I have money. I am available. Go for it.’
Parra allegedly had a tech hack into the phones, use them to make fraudulent purchases and empty their bank accounts before sending them to Colombia.
The suspects arrested Monday stole the iPhones to use the Apple Pay feature and use the owners’ credit cards to buy items, police said.
NYPD Chief Joseph Kenny said the scooter drivers were paid $100 a day and the phone robbers were paid between $300 and $600 per phone.
“These perpetrators are part of a sophisticated criminal enterprise made up of immigrants who recently arrived in the United States,” Kenny said. “This network of thieves lives mainly in the migrant reception system.”
NYPD Commissioner Eddie Caban said, “They are essentially ghost criminals.”
Mayor Eric Adams went along for the sting operation wearing a $700 Fendi scarf under a bulletproof police vest and later appeared at a news conference with police.
‘This is not about the migrants and asylum seekers, this is about those who break the law. It doesn’t matter where you come from or where you come from,” the Democrat said.
Police shared a video of a migrant on a moped dragging a woman down a New York City street to steal her phone. Police are looking for the leader of a group of migrant ‘ghost criminals’ believed to be behind the ring
The suspects arrested on Monday allegedly stole the iPhones to use the Apple Pay feature and use the owners’ credit cards to purchase items
Mayor Eric Adams went along for the sting operation and later appeared at a news conference with police
Monday’s arrests come after another video late last month showed a dozen migrants attacking two police officers in Times Square.
A Manhattan judge released at least five asylum seekers without bail after they were accused of the assault. Only one of the suspects remains in prison.
Four of the suspects are believed to have fled the city after being charged and released after giving false names to a charity that helps migrants get bus tickets.
Many of the migrants were already known to police on charges of petty theft and shoplifting.
According to the New York Post, the migrants accused of the abuse are also part of a wire fraud scheme.
“They are buying back cars in Ecuador and Venezuela,” a police source told the Post. ‘They put swimming pools in their houses there. All this money goes back and forth. That’s why thefts are getting out of hand. It’s incredible what they do.’
The migrants involved in the attack on two Times Square police officers are also believed to be part of a wire fraud scheme.
New York City in particular has struggled under the weight of tens of thousands of migrants arriving at its borders in need of places to stay and other accommodations.
In 2023 alone, the city had to deal with the arrival of more than 100,000 migrants.
In the city’s latest controversial move to crack down on migrants, Adams announced a $53 million program to give prepaid credit cards to immigrant families with children.
Yesterday it was revealed that migrants staying in one of the city’s hotels will receive prepaid cards to buy food and baby supplies, rather than the city providing meals that the migrants often did not want.
Adams estimates the $53 million plan will save the city $600,000 a month, or $7.2 million a year, drawing outrage from many across the country, including native New Yorkers like rapper 50 Cent.