Police have arrested two migrants they believe are connected to a string of citywide cell phone robberies. The NYPD is now looking for seven more migrants who identify with a 14-member gang.
Officers raided a suspected safe house in the Bronx early Monday morning. The suspects are migrants from Venezuela.
“In recent months, a wave of migrant crime has washed over our city, but by no means are the individuals committing these crimes representing the vast number of people coming to New York to build a better life,” NYPD Commissioner Edward Caban said.
Venezuelan migrants who allegedly stole wallets and cellphones from at least 62 women were pictured leaving a New York City police precinct on Monday night
Two suspects were led out of the 1st precinct in Manhattan. One of them faces charges of 25 grand larcenies, while the… https://t.co/k9rEvwCyAF pic.twitter.com/aqbyya4Vgw
— Unlimited L's (@unlimited_ls) February 6, 2024
The two suspects, Cleyber Andrade, 19, and Juan Uzcatgui, 23, are allegedly part of a wider ring whose members are connected to 62 different instances of grand larceny throughout NYC, including a caught-on-video heist in which a 62-year-old woman was brutally dragged down a Brooklyn street.
Police are still searching for the ringleader, a Venezuelan migrant named Victor Parra, 30, of the Bronx, who was cut loose by a judge in December after getting picked up for grand larceny.
NYPD Inspector Nicholas Fiore said Parra has convinced others to “go do his dirty work to grab phones and stuff.”
The NYPD outlined the gang’s vicious tactics in a video clip posted online, which showed a robber on a moped dragging Irina Panteleeva, 62, across the pavement in front of Bay Gourmet Deli Juice Bar only three days after Christmas.
A police source told the Post the illegal immigrants routinely steal phones and use the Apple Pay and credit card information inside to purchase cars, pools, and other luxuries back home.
“They’re buying cars back in Ecuador and Venezuela. They’re putting pools in their homes there. All this money is going back and forth, and that’s why the larcenies are going out of control. It’s unbelievable what they’re doing,” the police source said.
At a news conference Friday, Gov. Kathy Hochul said she wanted to speak with Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg about why most of the suspects were released without bail and said prosecutors should have sought to keep them jailed.
“There are over 100 crimes that also can lead to deportation, and so that is also something I want to have a conversation with the district attorney about his options here,” Hochul told reporters.
