Three Charged in Armed Hijacking of Apple Devices Shipment in New York

Federal authorities have charged three men with armed robbery and conspiracy after allegedly hijacking a truck carrying $1.2 million worth of Apple devices outside a Long Island mall in January. The suspects—Alan Christopher Cedeno-Ferrer, 27; Michael Mejia-Nunez, 29; and Ennait Alexis Sirett-Padilla, 24—face charges including Hobbs Act robbery, Hobbs Act robbery conspiracy, and interstate transportation of stolen property. Prosecutors allege the men, all Dominican Republic nationals who entered the U.S. illegally, bound two truck drivers at gunpoint, forced one to drive the semi-trailer to an isolated lot, and then transferred the stolen cargo—including MacBook laptops, iPhones, iPads, Apple Watches, and accessories—through multiple vehicles to a self-storage unit in Paterson, New Jersey. One driver escaped and called 911 from inside the freezing trailer where temperatures were in the 20s. Investigators used surveillance footage, cellphone data, GPS tracking, and Apple device activation records as key evidence. Cedeno-Ferrer is accused of renting the Home Depot box truck used in the heist using a fake Pennsylvania license and allegedly negotiated the purchase of the handgun used in the crime. Sirett-Padilla reportedly rented the storage unit under his name using a Dominican Republic passport. The defendants were indicted by a grand jury on May 5 and arraigned before U.S. Magistrate Judge Anne Shields. If convicted, each faces up to 30 years in prison. The case is being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York, with support from the FBI and Nassau County Police.