MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, Fla. – Two crooks, their faces covered with masks, their hands with gloves, were caught on camera casually breaking into the mailboxes of residents who live in a west Miami-Dade community.
Video shows the pair drive up just before 11 p.m. Wednesday night and spending several minutes taking everything — from sealed envelopes to large packages — from the mailboxes in The Enclave at Century Parc near Southwest 87th Avenue and Third Street in the unincorporated Fontainebleau area.
Zouheir Najid, a resident, said, “Yesterday, they broke into the mailbox. I’m like, oh... wow.”
Susana Yao, another resident, added, “It was cracked open.”
Residents Local 10 News spoke with said this is not the first time their community has fallen victim to thieves who seem to have easy access.
One resident said, “It happened like three or four times.”
In the video, it appears the crooks have a key, but with that single key, they are able to gain access to every mailbox belonging to every resident in this community.
“The only reason this could happen is probably the W-2 form,” Najid speculated. “What is valuable that they know this is that they know that that day is going to happen.”
Yao also expressed concern, saying, “Credit cards or checks, some people don’t pick up their mail every day.”
If this crime looks familiar, it’s because this is not the first time we’ve reported on this type of theft.
Last March, video showed a crook using a screwdriver to take mail from the mailboxes at the Villagio apartment building in Miami’s Coconut Grove neighborhood.
While some residents say they picked up their mail before the thieves struck, others worry about what can be done with their personal information when it falls into the wrong hands.
Anyone with information is asked to call the U.S. Postal Inspection Service at 877-876-2455.