Police are still on the lookout for all of the people suspected to be involved with the assault of a woman in the Bronx that was caught on a street security camera on Sunday night.
The video shows a woman getting dragged along the sidewalk by a man pulling her from his moped before letting go of her and leaving her lying on the street- another woman walking by then stopped to help her, as displayed by the footage.
Suspects were taken into custody by police after this recording was released. All of these men are allegedly part of a moped-gang of migrants in NYC that have been reportedly stealing personal items such as cellphones out New Yorkers’ hands.
This group is suspected to be involved with a wider ring whose member have been allegedly affiliated with 62 grand larcenies across the city.
One of their heists that was reportedly caught on video showed a 62-year-old woman being dragged down a Brooklyn street, according to police sources.
As of yesterday, seven people were arrested for allegedly using mopeds to rob pedestrians in a criminal organization that is run through the messaging app WhatsApp, the NYPD reported. Their personal information has not yet been disclosed.
Police officers, accompanied by Mayor Eric Adams, made multiple arrests in an apartment in 2790 Bronx Park Dr. East, a location described as a stash house or headquarters for a widespread cellphone robbery operation throughout the boroughs now connected to more than a dozen suspects that are reportedly mostly migrants.
“This is not about migrants and asylum seekers. It’s about criminals who committed a crime. And we would treat criminals the same if they’re longstanding New Yorkers, or if they just arrived here last year. These are criminals that we brought to justice,” Adams said at a news conference on Monday.
The police department is still searching for the supposed ringleader of the larceny group, who is allegedly a Venezuelan migrant named Victor Parra, 30, who resides in the Bronx. Parra was reportedly in custody in December for grand larceny but was released by the judge of the case.
“The ringleader will send out specific orders for what type of phone he is looking for and then the text will say, ‘I have money. I’m available. Go get ‘em,’” Chief of Detectives, Joseph Kenny, stated at the news conference. “Once the messages are received, the crime wave begins with the scooter operators making $100 a day and the actual phone-snatcher making $300 to $600 per phone.”
As reported by police, there is probable cause to arrest three more people in addition to the seven already in custody for allegedly being linked to the robberies, but they haven’t been found by authorities yet. Officer Kenny also said that the department is still investigating the other robberies reportedly tied to the organization.
“This network of thieves predominantly live in the migrant shelter system,” he said the conference. “They use social media platforms to organize and coordinate their thefts.”
Police claim that the robbery pattern can traced back to November 2023 on the Upper East Side.
