A pack of brazen thieves is riding through Manhattan on mopeds and yanking AirPods Max off unsuspecting pedestrians' heads -- and police say they've hit 21 times in less than a month.
No injuries were reported in any of the AirPods Max thefts linked to the pattern, the first case of which dates back to Jan. 28. The most recent theft was Saturday, according to the NYPD.
Almost all robberies happened in the mid-to-late afternoon hours. In each case, cops say four male suspects ride on two mopeds, each with two suspects aboard. One is red and one is black. They approach from behind.
Get Tri-state area news and weather forecasts to your inbox. Sign up for NBC New York newsletters.
The back passenger is the one who grabs the headphones before the driver speeds off. The estimated value of each pair is about $500.
Authorities released surveillance video of two of the suspects after one of the mid-February heists. Footage from Washington Square South and LaGuardia Place shows two individuals on a black moped. The passenger gets off holding two pairs of AirPod Max headphones and walks into Washington Square Park. The driver later follows.
NYU Campus Security sent out a campus-wide memo saying at least three students have been targeted by the suspects in separate incidents around that same time. In all, the suspects have targeted 13 women and eight men.
Local
While the pricey headphones come with a noise cancellation function that drowns out any sound around the wearer, police said on Wednesday that it may be worth turned the feature off in order to maintain awareness of surroundings.
Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS.
