Jamiesfeast – The search for seven individuals involved in a sophisticated cellphone crime operation allegedly led by migrants in New York City is still ongoing, according to the NYPD.
The mastermind behind the 14-member operation, which involves hacking into stolen phones to drain victims’ bank accounts, has been identified by police as 30-year-old Victor Parra.
Investigations have been faced with a unique challenge as all seven suspects who have been arrested so far are migrants from Venezuela.
Cleyber Andrade, a 20-year-old individual, was arraigned on Tuesday evening and is being held on $10,000 bail. He is facing charges for six counts of grand larceny in the fourth degree, as well as six counts of criminal possession of stolen property.
Juane Uzcatgui, a 23-year-old individual, has been denied bail due to the nature of the charges he is currently facing. Specifically, he is accused of committing two counts of grand larceny in the fourth degree and two counts of possessing stolen property.
According to the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office, they have requested supervised release at the highest level for Uzcatgui. They clarified that although they would have requested bail, the defendant is not eligible for bail under the current statutory framework.
All the other suspects are scheduled to appear in Bronx Criminal Court on Tuesday, where they will face a range of charges including grand larceny, tampering with evidence, and criminal possession of stolen property.
According to the police, a series of 62 phone thefts occurred, involving thieves riding scooters and mopeds who targeted women by snatching their purses and phones while on the street or in the subway system.
The police revealed that the victims would be taken to the residence of the alleged crew leader. There, a “tech guy” would hack their phones in order to gain unauthorized access to their banking apps. This would enable them to carry out fraudulent purchases both in the United States and Central America.
According to officials, the suspects managed to withdraw hundreds of thousands of dollars from the victims’ bank accounts. Afterward, the phones were reportedly sent to Colombia, where they underwent a complete data wipe.
According to the police, Parra, who is currently being sought, operated an organized crime network primarily consisting of migrants living in the city from his apartment. Parra, who arrived in the country from Venezuela last year, had previously appeared before a judge in December on a grand larceny charge.
According to Chief of Detectives Joe Kenny, the criminals utilize social media platforms as a means to plan and orchestrate their illicit activities. Victor Parra, the leader of the group, takes charge by sending out a message through WhatsApp, expressing his need for smartphones.
According to authorities, scooter operators could earn around $100, while phone snatchers could make anywhere from $300 to $600.
During a search on Monday, the police managed to recover 22 stolen phones along with the victim’s identification from Parra’s residence.
The string of thefts began in November 2023, with the Upper East Side being the first target. The most recent incident took place in Chinatown on Sunday night. These thefts have been happening across all boroughs except Staten Island, with Manhattan being the most affected, accounting for nearly 56% of the total incidents.
During a visit to Albany, Mayor Eric Adams was questioned about the possibility of issuing an executive order to remove the restrictions that currently hinder the collaboration between the New York Police Department (NYPD) and Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
“I believe if you create repeated felonies in our city, the federal government should do its job and have that individual deported from our city,” Adams said. “There is a privilege to be here a participate in the American Dream. I don’t have the authority to do that, the City Council would have to do that.”
People are getting more angry at Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg because only one of the immigrants thought to have attacked two police officers in Times Square was caught and sent to jail. Four more were let go without paying bail.