UPS employees. Three suspects were arrested in a large-scale theft ring targeting UPS shipments of high-value electronics in Palm Beach County.
According to the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office, UPS employees at the Riviera Beach distribution center stole iPhones, tablets, and accessories worth over $500,000 by tampering with shipments bound for local T-Mobile stores.
The investigation began on October 31, when representatives from T-Mobile and UPS contacted the sheriff’s office. T-Mobile said it had started reporting “substantial losses” in July.
Investigators said T-Mobile and UPS placed GPS tracking devices inside decoy packages, which led them to the stolen goods and helped catch the responsible parties.
The sheriff’s office said they uncovered 16 thefts of T-Mobile packages from a UPS facility in Riviera Beach.
“The investigation identified a chop-shop operation using a recording studio and cellphone repair shop, GoalMind Studios in Lantana, as a front to sell the stolen property,” the sheriff’s office said in a statement.
Surveillance footage captured UPS driver Sheldon Brown, 38, delivering packages to Giffton White, 36, a UPS supervisor. Another suspect, Christopher Palmer, 36, was later found using one of the stolen iPhones.
The detective said UPS workers created fake tracking numbers to cover up the thefts.
The sheriff’s office conducted surveillance, gathered video evidence, and used license plate trackers to arrest Brown, White, and Palmer.
The judge overseeing the suspects’ first court appearance on Wednesday highlighted the “systematic nature” of the case and called stealing from an employer a “crime against humanity.”
All suspects face felony charges, including conspiracy to commit organized crime, grand theft, and trafficking in stolen property.
During the execution of a search warrant at GoalMind Studios, detectives said they recovered stolen goods. They said the business owner remains at large.
The sheriff’s office said its investigation is ongoing.
Image: Wflx
