NEW YORK (1010 WINS) — The NYPD is searching for a group of thieves who stole cellphones and credit cards from lockers at high-end New York City gyms and made tens of thousands of dollars in fraudulent purchases, police announced Tuesday.
Police released surveillance images of the suspects from the first and second incidents in the hope that someone recognizes them.
The first incident on Dec. 17 occurred at a Lifetime Gym located on Atlantic Avenue in Prospect Heights, Brooklyn. At about 3:45 p.m., police said that three individuals entered the gym and stole a cellphone and wallet containing credit cards from a locker before fleeing in an unknown direction.
An unauthorized transaction of $27,000 was later made on one of the credit cards, police said.
The suspects hit twice more the following month, targeting Equinox gyms in Manhattan. They followed the same pattern in both thefts, stealing a cellphone and wallet containing credit cards from a gym locker.
The second incident took place at a Midtown Equinox located on Park Avenue South at about 12:30 p.m. on Jan. 3. Two individuals entered the gym, snatched the items and fled in an unknown direction, later using a stolen credit card to make $26,000 in purchases.
Not even two weeks later on Jan. 15, two suspects hit an Equinox located on Columbus Avenue in the Upper West Side just before noon. They fled the location with the stolen goods in a white Mercedes-Benz sedan, and later used a stolen credit card to make a $30,000 purchase.
No one was injured in the thefts, officials said.
Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS.