Men break into UPS warehouses, steal $1.6 million worth of ‘high-value’ items, feds say
Four men are accused of breaking into UPS warehouses across the U.S. in search of packages with specific markings and stealing “high-value” items inside that totaled $1.6 million, federal prosecutors said.
Fifty-five UPS facilities, including in New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Indiana and Rhode Island, were broken into as part of the men’s burglary scheme from January 2021 to April 2023, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey.
Once inside a warehouse, the men — who’d wear all black and hide their faces with balaclavas or other garments — sought packages with “lithium-ion battery” warnings, as these markings likely meant expensive electronics, including phones, were inside, a criminal complaint says.
The four men, Aboudramane Karamoko, 20; Sekou Fofanah, 20; Shamaire Brown, 19; and Quamaire Brown, 19, all from Philadelphia, are accused of targeting UPS warehouses on Saturday nights into Sunday morning, according to prosecutors, who said others were also involved in the scheme.
Karamoko, Fofanah, Shamaire Brown and Quamaire Brown are now charged with one count of conspiracy to commit cargo theft, the attorney’s office announced in a Nov. 17 news release.
Information regarding the men’s legal representation wasn’t immediately available the afternoon of Nov. 20.
“We appreciate law enforcement’s diligence in this investigation,” UPS said in a statement provided to McClatchy News on Nov. 20.
How the warehouses were broken into
The loading bay doors of UPS warehouses were the primary entry point for the men and others accused of taking in the burglary scheme, prosecutors said. Other potential suspects were not publicly identified by officials.
The men are accused of getting inside the warehouses by smashing the loading bay door windows or prying open the door so a smaller person could “squeeze through,” according to prosecutors.
According to one example included in the criminal complaint filed against the four men, surveillance footage captured four people entering a UPS warehouse in Jamesburg, New Jersey, where they stayed for two hours the morning of June 5, 2022.
The group was seen leaving the facility around 5:22 a.m. with nylon bags, the criminal complaint says.
UPS discovered electronics worth $84,741 were stolen from the warehouse that day, according to the criminal complaint.
Prosecutors said the men would evade authorities, who responded to the warehouse break-ins, by driving off or running away.
In addition to swiping electronics such as Apple products, the men are accused of stealing a gun from a UPS facility, according to the attorney’s office.
If convicted, Karamoko, Fofanah, Shamaire Brown and Quamaire Brown could face up to five years in prison each and a $250,000 fine “or twice the amount of money involved in the offense, whichever is greater,” prosecutors said.
This story was originally published November 20, 2023 at 1:38 PM with the headline "Men break into UPS warehouses, steal $1.6 million worth of ‘high-value’ items, feds say."
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