New York City woman got her porch pirated, but she isn’t willing to let it slide. She uncovered more than a thief: ‘Nine years of crime ends today’
Their sting operation uncovered more than what they expected.
After an incident involving a notorious porch pirate at her apartment complex, Alani (@alaanniiiii) and her friend in New York City have had enough. They decided to set up a sting operation to catch the alleged thief.
“So, in my personal life, I have been a victim of package theft in my building for a year,” Alani told TikTok. The alleged thief has reportedly stolen an iPhone 5 and items from Hollister, Abercrombie & Fitch, and Victoria’s Secret. But recently, Alani said her porch pirate stole a package containing a Maison Margiela product.
“I know it’s someone in the building. And after launching my own personal investigation and knocking door-to-door, I have found out someone in the building has been stealing packages for over nine years. And if they don’t like what’s in it, they dump it in the back alley,” Alani claimed. Package theft doesn’t always happen because a stranger has decided to infiltrate a gated community or an apartment. In one man’s case, his next-door neighbors allegedly received and kept his $4,000 laptop delivered via UPS. Similarly, in Alani’s case, her neighbors suspect that the thief is among them.
“Bring the decoy,” she told her friend. He brought in a box from the United States Postal Service. It looked like a standard package box, but Alani explained, “This person is personally targeting my packages because I have good taste. Here is a decoy package with a Brandy Melville sweater in it that I don’t give a f*** about. I already own two.” Alani also claimed she placed an AirTag in the box to track the thief.
She planned to place the decoy package outside the hallway. If the porch pirate steals the package, she will report them to the authorities. “Nine years of crime ends today,” Alani commented.
Catching her porch pirate
In an update, Alani said that she and her friend had to track the thief to the subway. Although she didn’t disclose their identity, they filmed the pursuit and posted it on TikTok.
She explained that she and her friend staked out the area. By 8:00 p.m., Alani said the thief took the bait. They started looking around for it, pulling out their phones to see where the AirTag went. When they checked, they saw the AirTag moving two blocks down the street.
After running and following the AirTag, they detected it at the subway station. They tapped in and followed the alleged perp to the subway. As they got off the platform, her friend detected the AirTag 200 feet away. They followed the trail again, and then Alani said she found someone on a scooter with a bunch of apartment keys hanging from it. Her friend said they could detect the AirTag on the man’s scooter.
Alani confronted him and asked if he had her package. He denied it, then Alani told him that the package had an AirTag. The man didn’t seem to understand, and Alani said that the AirTag was still moving.
“The bigger problem here, though. We have uncovered what is appearing to be a theft ring,” Alani claimed. They had unintentionally uncovered a larger operation and passed the information to the police. Not only did she spot one of the potential perps during her sting, but Alani also said the police are now tracking the AirTag and pursuing the thieves.
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