Crooks on mopeds snatch AirPods off people's heads at least 21 times across Manhattan
WINS Radio New York
2/22/2023
NEW YORK (1010 WINS/WCBS 880) -- Police are searching for a crew on mopeds who’ve been snatching Apple AirPods off people’s heads across Manhattan in recent weeks.
The NYPD released video Wednesday showing two of the four suspects near Washington Square Park after they grabbed AirPods from a 20-year-old woman on the afternoon of Feb. 10.
In total, the four men struck at least 21 times between Jan. 28 and Feb. 18 in a theft spree that’s spanned much of the borough, from Tribeca up to Morningside Heights, and many neighborhoods in between.
The suspects operate in two pairs, one on a red moped and the other on a black moped, according to police.
In each theft, the duo rides up to the victim and the passenger hops off and pulls the headphones from their ears before riding off.
The stolen headphones have all been Apple AirPods Max with an average value of $500, according to police.
The victims are both men and women, ranging in age from 18 to 41 years old.
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Police released images Wednesday of the four suspects they're searching for. They're described as males on two mopeds, one red and one black
They’ve been jumped in Tribeca, Chelsea, SoHo, the West Village, the East Village, Gramercy, Kips Bay, Midtown, the Upper East Side, Morningside Heights, and on East Drive in Central Park.
The crooks struck five times on Feb. 8 and three times on Feb. 9, snatching up AirPods in Chelsea, Tribeca and across Greenwich Village. But their largest haul was on Feb. 18, when they snatched eight pairs of headphones, including in Midtown, on the Upper East Side and uptown near Columbia University.
No injuries have been reported in the brazen spree, police said.
Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS.
WINS Radio New York
