The moment a migrant on a moped dragged a woman along a New York City street to steal her phone was caught in horrifying footage shared by police.
Three migrants were arrested by the NYPD after they allegedly went on a crime spree that saw them stealing wallets and cellphones from at least 62 women across the city’s seven boroughs.
Police say they arrested the migrants, all believed to be from Venezuela, in a safe house in the Bronx after executing a search warrant.
The suspects were allegedly stealing the iPhones to use the Apple Pay feature and use the owners’ credit cards to buy items.
NYPD Assistant Commissioner Kaz Daughtry said: ‘Most migrants come to NYC in search of a better life. Sadly, some come to commit crime. Today we made tremendous progress in the largest robbery pattern plaguing our city.
The moment a migrant on a moped dragged a woman along a New York City street to steal her phone was caught in horrifying footage shared by police
The suspects were allegedly stealing the iPhones to use the Apple Pay feature and use the owners’ credit cards to buy items
‘Our message is simple – commit a crime in our city and we will find you and bring you to justice!’
Mayor Eric Adams went along for the sting operation and later appeared at a press conference with police.
‘This isn’t about the migrants and asylum seekers, this is about those who break the law. It doesn’t matter where you’re from and where you came from,’ the Democrat said.
Officer Nicholas Fiore said police are still looking for the leader of the crime ring, which has allegedly been looking for migrants to do ‘his dirty work.’
‘He’s the big target. [He] has caused a lot of problems in New York City,’ Fiore added.
Monday’s arrests come after another video showed about a dozen migrants assaulting two police officers in Times Square late last month.
A Manhattan judge let at least five asylum seekers go free without bail after they were charged with the assault. Only one of the suspects remains in jail.
Four of the suspects are believed to have fled the city after being charged and released after giving fake names to a charity that helps migrants get bus tickets.
Many of the migrants were already known to police over charges of petty larceny and shoplifting.
According to the New York Post, the migrants charged in the assault are also part of a phone-snatching scheme.
‘They’re buying cars back in Ecuador and Venezuela’ a police source told the Post. ‘They’re putting pools in their homes there. All this money is going back and forth. That’s why the larcenies are going out of control. It’s unbelievable what they’re doing.’
Mayor Eric Adams went along for the sting operation and later appeared at a press conference with police
Officer Nicholas Fiore said police are still looking for the leader of the crime ring, which has allegedly been looking for migrants to do ‘his dirty work’
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Braggs has defended the decision to release the suspects, but on Saturday claimed he will present evidence against them to a grand jury.
New York City is buckling under the weight of a massive influx of asylum seekers, with over 170,000 arriving since the spring of 2022.
Adams was welcoming of the migrants at first, but has since warned the situation will ‘destroy’ the city as we know it. Meanwhile his requests for aid from the federal government have been ignored.
In the city’s latest controversial move to deal with the migrants, Adams announced a $53million program to give pre-paid credit cards to migrant families with children.
It was revealed yesterday that migrants housed in one of the city’s hotels will receive pre-paid cards to buy food and baby supplies, instead of the city providing meals the migrants often did not want.
Adams estimated the $53 million scheme will save the city $600,000 a month, or $7.2 million annually, drawing outrage from many across the country, including native New Yorkers like rapper 50 Cent.
Migrants must sign an affidavit promising to only use the cards for food and baby supplies, or else have them cut off.
Cops are still on the lookout for at least eight other men involved in the Times Square melee
It is unclear how the City of New York will know if they’re just being used in bodegas as intended.
The amount on each card will depend on individual circumstances. It is unclear how city officials will check if cards are being abused – and if the scheme will worsen the crisis by encouraging other migrants to head to the Big Apple in the hopes of receiving free money.
A family of four could be provided nearly $1,000 each month, which is $35 per day for food for the four.
At present, each migrant meal costs $11, so feeding a family of four for a day could cost up to $132.
Cards will get refilled every 28 days.
