More than 60 women have had their phones and sometimes purses snatched by thieves on mopeds in recent weeks in New York City . Just last week, the New York City Police Department released surveillance video of a 52-year-old woman being dragged violently by thieves on a scooter as they robbed her of her bag, phone, credit cards, keys, glasses, identification, and $60.
“They’re essentially ghost criminals,” NYPD Commissioner Edward Caban said. “No criminal history. No photos. No cellphone. Sometimes we’re even unclear on name or a date of birth.”
Who are these ghost criminals, and how did they get to New York?
They are all migrants, mostly from Venezuela, and they were all released into the country by President Joe Biden.
“This network of thieves predominantly live in the migrant shelter system,” NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny said. “The crimes in this pattern involved multiple thieves on mopeds, snatching cellphones and purses of victims. These thieves would ride up behind their victims on the sidewalk, steal their property, and then make their getaway.”