New York City Mayor Eric Adams joined NYPD officers on a raid in the Bronx in connection to a rising crime wave among the daily incoming migrant community.
According to a report from The New York Times, Adams was issued a bulletproof vest and joined in on the raid that took place early morning on Feb. 5 in the apartment of 30-year-old Victor Parra, the alleged ringleader.
NYPD Deputy Commissioner Kaz Daughtry took to X, formerly known as Twitter, to notify the public of the mayor’s recent move regarding the ongoing migrant crisis.
“Most migrants come to NYC in search of a better life. Sadly, some come to commit crimes,” Daughtry stated. “While the rest of NYC was sleeping, @NYCMayor @NYPDChiefPatrol @NYPDDetectives joined @NYPDnews investigators & specialized teams as we carried out a search warrant — booming a door and making arrests. Today we made tremendous progress in the largest robbery pattern plaguing our city. Our message is simple – commit a crime in our city and we will find you and bring you to justice!”
Since the police began cracking down on migrants who have been committing crimes, seven migrants were arrested while 14 have been identified altogether.
The NYPD believed that a small group of suspects were responsible for a citywide pattern of robberies including cellphone thefts, CBS News reported.
NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny confirmed that Parra and his crew were part of a much larger crime ring.
“These perpetrators are part of a sophisticated criminal enterprise made up of immigrants who have recently arrived in the United States,” Kenny said at a press briefing. “This network of thieves predominantly lives in the migrant shelter system.”
Parra, who arrived in the city from Venezuela in 2023, and his crew allegedly used mopeds to steal cellphones and wallets off unsuspecting victims.
Parra recruited members of his gang by sending out mass WhatsApp messages detailing what type of phones he wanted, officials said.
Once the messages were received, the crime began. Scooter operators were making $100 a day while the actual phone snatchers made between $300-600 per phone, Chief Kenny confirmed.
NYPD confirmed the theory that the reason for the phone thefts was because the suspects were going after payment apps such as Apple Pay.
The stolen phones were brought to Parra, who used a “tech guy” that could hack into the phones gaining access to financial and banking information.
Adams spoke on the crime wave among this particular group of migrants calling their actions a public safety issue.
“These small number of people are breaking the law and are having a huge impact on our public safety, and that is why we zeroed in on them,” Adams said.
“We’re not going to sit idly by while people choose to prey on their fellow New Yorkers.”
The use of illegal mopeds is a continuation of an alarming trend that Adams has been cracking down on.
The NYPD seized more than 2,500 illegal mopeds and scooters last year which is a 74% increase compared to the prior year.
“Mopeds and scooters are being used for crimes and harming innocent people. I want to be clear, again, the law is coming for those who use mopeds illegally,” Adams said.
The series of robberies began in November 2023 on the Upper East Side, with the most recent incident occurring in Chinatown on Feb. 4.
Authorities stated that the people arrested in the raid have no connection to the viral incident of two NYPD officers being assaulted by migrants in Times Square.
