DORAL, Fla. – Federal investigators are working with local police after a trio of thieves broke into over 100 mailboxes in Doral.
The incident happened at the Mediterranea subdivision just after 3 a.m. on Tuesday.
“We are trying to identify the persons who stole the mail as seen in the video,” said Blanca Alvarez with the U.S. Postal Inspection Service. “Community members who know anything can give us a call or give local police a call. Anything that is suspicious, report it, because it may be something important. We will put all the pieces together once we get everyone’s information and the information we are getting ourselves.”
The incident is the latest in an uptick of various mail theft cases across South Florida. The USPS said mail theft nationally has been on the rise.
“There are different methods that are being used,” said Alvarez. “Some people are breaking into mailboxes.”
Others are targeting letter carriers stealing their master keys, which the post service calls an “arrow key.”
“There have been a few arrow key robberies of carriers that we are investigating,” said Alvarez. “We have arrested several people for robberies of carriers and for having an arrow key. It is a federal offense for anyone who is not in the postal service and not on duty to have an arrow key on them. It is also a federal offense to rob a mail carrier and steal mail, so there are several federal charges that these suspects will be facing when they are identified and brought to justice.”
Alvarez said especially with the holiday season, residents should treat their mailbox like a locked car overnight and not leave valuables inside.
“Pick up your mail as on as possible after it is delivered, don’t leave in your mailbox overnight,” said Alvarez. “If you will not be home to pick up your mail overnight, either put your mail on hold with the post office or ask a neighbor to pick up your mail for you. Anything left in a mailbox overnight should be addresses as soon as possible so if they do break in, they won’t take anything. Try to keep your mail and your personal belongings in your home overnight so it is not unsupervised.”
Local 10 News reached out to Doral police regarding the theft, and they said:
“The Doral Police Department is aware of the mail theft incident which occurred on December 12, 2023, in the area of 108th Path NW 85th Street. In collaboration with US Postal Service Police, the Doral Police Department is actively investigating this incident. Based on the facts of this case, the subjects have also committed similar crimes throughout South Florida. As always, we have zero tolerance for these types of incidents and are optimistic we will be making multiple arrests in the near future regarding this case.”
Anyone with information about the Doral mail thefts is urged to call Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers at 305-471-TIPS.
RELATED LINKS
Report Mail Loss: Call 877-876-2455 or visit www.uspis.gov
USPS Theft Prevention: https://www.uspis.gov/tips-prevention/mail-theft
USPS Hold Mail Service: https://www.usps.com/manage/hold-mail.htm
USPS Informed Delivery: https://www.usps.com/manage/informed-delivery.htm