1/3 USPS Phone Theft Bust (Courtesy: Gastonia Police Department)

2/3 DeSean Hardiman

3/3 Elijah Jefferies

GASTONIA, N.C. – Two United States Postal Service employees in Gastonia were arrested after allegedly stealing $18,000 worth of cell phones from packages and selling them, according to the Gastonia Police Department.

Police said DeSean Hardiman and Elijah Jefferies were employees at a USPS warehouse in Gastonia off Scaleybark Road.

While working, Hardiman and Jefferies would identify packages that had cell phones, according to police. They would open them, take the phones, and later sell them for cash.

Police began the six-month investigation after customers complained to USPS. Police said they recovered over 20 stolen phones with an estimated total loss of $18,000.

Hardim

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