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Borough trio charged in JFK iPhone theft

By Alex Christodoulides

Nevar Singh, 20, of South Ozone Park, a forklift operator for Menzie Imports, which is subcontracted to handle Cathay Pacific Airline's freight, and his cousin, Navin Hussain, 22, also of South Ozone Park, were both arraigned Saturday before Queens Criminal Court Justice Deborah Stevens Modica on charges of second-degree grand larceny, criminal possession of stolen property and conspiracy, and face up to 15 years in prison if convicted, District Attorney Richard Brown said. Bail for both was set at $5,000 for each of the cousins, Brown said.The third man, Jaouad Najyb, 34, of Briarwood, was identified as the sole owner of Maya Wireless Cell Phones and Accessories, located at 83-44 Parsons Blvd. in Briarwood, and was charged with criminal possession of stolen property, the DA said. If convicted, Najyb faces up to seven years in prison, the DA said. His bail was set at $2,500, Brown said.All three are due back in court Feb. 8, the DA said.According to the criminal complaints filed in the case, five boxes of iPhones, valued at $147,000, were slated to be shipped from Cathay Pacific's JFK warehouse to Kwonloon, Hong Kong, on Jan. 15, Brown said. But the 300 phones, worth about $490 each, never reached their destination. When the airline's cargo manager checked the warehouse surveillance tape, observed Singh driving the forklift with five boxes of iPhones, hiding them in the warehouse's import area, where he was not authorized to work, then saw Singh and another person opening the door and loading the boxes into an SUV, the DA said.According to the criminal complaints, Port Authority police questioned Singh Jan. 24 and he admitted to stealing the phones with his cousin Hussain's help and said they were selling the phones to a man later identified as Najyb, to whom the cousins were to deliver more phones that night.A search warrant executed the following day at Najyb's store turned up the stolen iPhones along with others, the DA said.