A Pensacola, Florida UPS employee was arrested and charged with stealing 171 iPhones, valued at $175,000, during a 60 day period. WEAR TV reports the man stole the devices, each one was an iPhone 16, from packages meant for T-Mobile customers.
According to the arrest report, the thefts happened from January to April of this year, says an AppleInsider report.
A UPS investigation reveal that all of the missing iPhones had been handled by Carl Sykes, who was arrested Thursday on a charge of grand theft cargo $50,000 or more. The report says Sykes has admitted to stealing the iPhones and selling them.
According to the report, investigators first discovered that 130 phones handled by Sykes did not reach their destinations. Investigators later discovered that there were 171 stolen phones in all.
This isn’t the first time a UPS employee has been charged with theft of Apple products.
A UPS driver in Texas was arrested in March for stealing $200,000 of Apple products. A 37-year-old Texas man who had been employed by UPS for five years, stands accused of stealing multiple parcels, which contained “Apple iPhones, Apple iPads, and various smartwatches.”
A Facebook post by the Cameron County District Attorney’s Office Facebook page, stated that Armando Garcia is also accused of stealing jewelry, power tools, and “luxury designer items such as Louis Vuitton, Fendi, Ferragamo, and Dior handbags, wallets, and accessories.”
UPS Security contacted the prosecutor’s office about the missing items, and investigators were able to track them to Garcia’s residence, allowing law enforcement to obtain and execute a search warrant.
Garcia was present at the time of the search and was taken into custody without incident. He was booked on theft charges. Additional suspects and charges are expected as the investigation moves forward.
(Photo by Matthew Parsanian on Unsplash)
