A 43-year-old employee of the United States Postal Service (USPS) from the northwest area of Miami-Dade County was arrested on Friday in Hialeah, accused of stealing items from packages he was supposed to handle or deliver, according to a report by channel WPLG Local 10.
The investigators managed to document the case thanks to video recordings that allegedly show the worker extracting three iPhones and a high-value ring from several postal packages.
Authorities have not disclosed the name of the accused or the specific formal charges, so the presumption of innocence fully applies at this stage of the process.
The case has particular resonance in Hialeah, a city with one of the largest concentrations of Cuban-American population in the country.
Many residents of that community allocate part of their savings to purchase iPhones and other electronic devices in the United States to send to family members in Cuba, either through package delivery agencies or directly by postal mail.
The theft of one of those phones can represent the loss of hundreds of dollars that a family took months to save up.
The incident is not an isolated case in South Florida. In August of this year, two UPS employees in Doral were arrested for a package theft scheme valued at over 100,000 dollars, illustrating a pattern of internal thefts in courier companies in Miami-Dade.
At the national level, the United States Postal Inspection Service (USPIS) recorded 1,353 arrests for mail theft in fiscal year 2024, and between 2019 and 2024, it accumulated nearly 9,300 arrests for mail and package-related offenses.
Although complaints about mail theft dropped by 20% in fiscal year 2024, a report from the inspector general published this year warns that they increased again in fiscal year 2025 in almost all regions of the country.
Those waiting for packages in Hialeah or any other area can take measures to safeguard their shipments.
USPS offers the Informed Delivery service for free, which provides users with a digital preview of incoming mail and packages, allowing them to detect in advance if something hasn’t arrived.
Other options include signature confirmation at the time of delivery, USPS smart lockers, and the option to hold mail during absences.
If a package goes missing or a postal theft is suspected, the USPIS has a hotline to report the crime: the number 1-877-876-2455, or the online form at uspis.gov/report; in the event of an ongoing theft, the recommendation is to call 911.
Local 10 published a video on Saturday titled "Video shows USPS worker swiping iPhones, ring from packages, cops say," which features footage recorded during the investigation that was crucial for the arrest.
Related videos:
Filed under: