Metro

141 busted in NYPD iPad, iPhone sting

A massive NYPD sting nailed 141 merchants at bodegas, delis and barbershops for buying what they believed to be stolen iPhones and iPads, cops said.

Undercover NYPD officers offered the electronics to merchants at over 600 stores in all five boroughs – asking $50 to $200 for iPhone 4s and iPad 2s – clearly stating that the popular gadgets were stolen.

The sting began Tuesday and continued through today, and followed decoy operations in the subways to catch the thieves that steal electronics from straphangers.

“This was a two-prong approach to apprehend both thieves and receivers of stolen property,” said NYPD Commissioner Raymond Kelly said. “Suspects at both ends of the equation are learning the hard way that ‘victims’ and ‘sellers’ may in fact be undercover police officers.”

Brooklyn saw the most arrests, with 42, while there were 41 in Manhattan, 31 in the Bronx, 21 in Queens, and six on Staten Island.

The arrested merchants have been charged with criminal possession of stolen property.

The slight uptick in grand larcenies this year has been driven by thefts of expensive handheld electronics, police said.

The tactic of sending undercover officers to businesses known to buy stolen phones was already in use by precincts in Williamsburg and Fort Greene.

“We talk to prisoners when we bring them in and ask them, ‘Hey, where are you selling these phones?’” said a police source in Fort Greene’s 88 Precinct. He added that bodegas buy stolen smartphones for about $175, then turn around and sell the phone on eBay for about $300.

Apple sells the iPhone 4 for $549 and the iPad 2 starts at $499.

A police source at the 90 Precinct in Williamsburg cautions against showing off your smartphone outside.

“Walking around with a cellphone is like walking around with a $500 bill,” said the Williamsburg source. “Kids are stealing them and flipping them immediately.”

Most of the stings yielded one arrest, though at some businesses two merchants were arrested and one location near 178th Street and Fort Washington Avenue netted six people.

Kelly said the undercover officers followed a script and were very clear that the iPads and iPhones were stolen property. Merchants were arrested after they handed over cash and took possession of the gadget.

“If someone is offering you an iPad for way below market-value, you have to realize that it’s most likely stolen,” he said.