4 Philly men charged with stealing $1.6 million in merchandise from dozens of UPS warehouses

Four Philadelphia men have been charged with conspiracy to burglarize dozens of UPS warehouses — including in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Indiana, and Rhode Island — and stealing more than $1.6 million in merchandise, federal prosecutors said Friday.

Aboudramane Karamoko, 20; Sekou Fofanah, 20; Shamaire Brown, 19; and Quamaire Brown, 19, were each charged in federal court in Newark, N.J., with one count of conspiracy to commit cargo theft.

If convicted, they face a maximum five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

From January 2021 through April 2023, prosecutors said, the four men and others conspired to commit burglaries at 55 United Parcel Service warehouses.

The defendants allegedly targeted UPS facilities late Saturday night into Sunday morning.

Once inside, they would look for packages marked with “lithium-ion battery” warnings, which indicated they likely contained high-value electronic devices such as Apple iPhones, prosecutors said. On at least one occasion, they allegedly stole a firearm.

Karamoko was arrested Wednesday in State College. The remaining three defendants were arrested Thursday in Philadelphia. All four were still in custody Friday.