The NYPD says it has foiled the largest robbery pattern in the city – thieves snatching women’s purses and phones out of their hands.
Officers raided a suspected safe house in the Bronx early Monday morning. The suspects are migrants from Venezuela.
“In recent a 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.
The string of 62 thefts of phones stolen from women on the street and in the subway system has been linked to a mastermind overseeing the spree from his Bronx apartment, the NYPD said on Monday.
Victor Parra, who is still being sought, ran a sophisticated criminal enterprise of migrants predominantly living in the city’s system, police said.
“They use social media platforms to organize and coordinate their thefts. This is how they operate. The leader of the crew identified as Victor Parra will blast out a message via WhatsApp that he’s looking for phones,” Chief of Detectives Joe Kenny said.