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Read the press release here.

Undercover Cops Nab Three Alleged iPhone Thieves on B Train

By Leslie Albrecht | October 4, 2012 10:04pm
 Police say three teens snatched an iPhone from an undercover cop posing as a straphanger on the B train at Newkirk Plaza on Oct. 4, 2012.
Police say three teens snatched an iPhone from an undercover cop posing as a straphanger on the B train at Newkirk Plaza on Oct. 4, 2012.
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Flickr/acnatta

FLATBUSH — Cops nabbed three alleged iPhone bandits on a B train at Newkirk Plaza station on Thursday afternoon, police said.

The teenage trio allegedly targeted an undercover transit officer with the MTA's "decoy unit" who was posing as a straphanger with an iPhone tucked into his backpack, police said.

The three suspected thieves surrounded the undercover cop about 3:52 p.m., jostled him to create a distraction, and snatched the phone, police said. Other officers in the decoy unit witnessed the theft, and the three were arrested without incident, police said.

Police arrested a 17-year-old and two 16-year-olds, all Brooklyn residents, in connection with the crime. All three were charged with grand larceny and jostling. The 17-year-old was also charged with possession of stolen property.