Seven immigrant suspects arrested after more than 60 robberies in New York

(CNN) — At least seven immigrants were arrested Monday after a search warrant was released at a home in the Bronx linked to a pattern of burglaries in four New York City boroughs, officials said Monday.

The suspects are part of what authorities call a criminal enterprise that primarily uses stolen mopeds to steal phones and then hack into those phones to obtain financial instruments, the New York City Police Department (NYPD) said.

“We believe the individuals involved have been involved in 62 theft incidents throughout the city, including our transportation system,” said Mayor Eric Adams. “They ride mopeds, scooters and steal New Yorkers’ possessions such as iPhones and wallets.”

NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny said the “sophisticated criminal enterprise created by immigrants” begins with a man named Victor Parra, who sends a message on social media asking for a phone number.

People working for Para turn to stealing phones: According to Kenny, moped drivers earn $100 a day and those who steal phones earn up to $600 a day.

Once the phone is delivered to Para, according to Kenny, Para uses someone with technical skills to hack into the phone, steal money from financial institutions, and conduct illegal transactions. Once the money runs out or the phone is unusable, Pera will send it to Colombia to be reprogrammed.

At least 22 stolen phones were recovered from Para’s home on Monday, Kenney said. And although several members who worked with Parra were arrested — including the man who hacked the phone — Parra was not at home, Kenny said.

“I’m confident the US Marshals Service Regional Fugitive Task Force will find him soon,” Kenney said.

Kenny described Pera as a 30-year-old Hispanic man from Venezuela who had previously been arrested for grand theft in Manhattan. It is believed to have entered the state sometime in 2023, officials said.

The NYPD identified 14 members connected to the mercury scheme, with 7 arrested and charged with multiple counts of grand larceny and 3 in connection with various other crimes, police said.

According to Kenney, it is unclear whether the immigrants arrested Monday are undocumented or asylum seekers.

“To put this into perspective, since January 1, 2024 we have 32 more open patterns involving moped and phone thieves than this time last year. That’s 147 cases and that equates to 147 victims,” ​​Kenney said.

NYPD Chief of Patrol John M. Chell said robbery is not the only type of crime in the city after the influx of immigrants, and human trafficking and domestic violence are beginning to appear inside shelters.

“This is not about immigrants and asylum seekers, this is about criminals who have committed a crime and we’re going to treat criminals the same, whether they’ve been in New York for a long time or they just came here last year,” Adams said.

NYPD Police Commissioner Edward A. Caban expanded on Adams’ comments, saying, “The wave of crime committed by immigrants invades our city, but they are by no means representative of all immigrants.”

“This is a national problem, we need a national solution on both sides of the aisle,” Adams said of the growing influx of immigrants into the city.

CNN’s Maria Sole Campinotti contributed to this report.