A Brooklyn bus passenger was robbed of his iPhone — but police found it a short time later and busted the deli worker who bought it off the thieves, police said Tuesday.
The incident highlights a growing trend — the iPhone accounts for over 70% of all stolen cell phones on subways and buses, according to an internal NYPD report highlighted in yesterday's Daily News.
The 29-year-old victim was confronted on the B-47 bus Monday evening by two teens, one of whom snatched his iPhone and bolted.
The startled victim said he chased the suspect off the bus, but the robber’s accomplice punched him in the face.
"It happened so fast,” the victim, who asked his name not be printed, told the News. "I didn't even see them until one grabbed my phone."
The robbers got away with the phone - temporarily.
The victim told police his device was equipped with the FindMyiPHone app, which works like a GPS.
Working with Sgt. John Todaro, the victim's Apple ID number was inputted into another iPhone.
On Tuesday they tracked the stolen iPhone to the nearby Uniss Deli on Mermaid Ave. Worker Sadek Abdullah, 25, was arrested after admitting that less than 10 minutes earlier he had paid $60 for the phone to one of the suspects and a woman with him, police said.
Abdullah was charged with criminal possession of stolen property — and police said they're investigating if the deli is involved in the growing black market for stolen electronic devices.
Meanwhile on Tuesday, Sen. Charles Schumer spoke to Julius Genachowski, chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, about getting cell carriers to implement available technology - already in use in much of Western Europe — that renders stolen cell phones inoperable
No comments:
Post a Comment