Some businesses had been suspected of receiving stolen property in the past

Dec 19, 2011 15:23 GMT  ·  By

NYPD officers posed as sellers of stolen iPads and iPhones to bust 141 people in a sting operation that unfolded last Friday, the police department said.

Per an NBC New York report, the cops approached specific businesses around the city, including some suspected of buying stolen goods in the past.

The undercover officers then offered to sell iPhone 4S and iPad 2 devices for dirt cheap prices - between $50 and $200 each, the dept. said - with the justification that said hardware had been stolen.

Upon accepting to pay for the goods, 141 persons saw themselves charged with criminal possession of stolen property.

According to Police Commissioner Ray Kelly, “This was a two-prong approach to apprehend both thieves and receivers of stolen property. Suspects at both ends of the equation are learning the hard way that ‘victims’ and ‘sellers’ may in fact be undercover police officers.”