Pa. AG indicts 7 people, dismantles retail theft and gun trafficking ring in Pittsburgh

Authorities charged a Pittsburgh pawn shop owner Friday with running a retail theft and gun trafficking ring that bought and resold stolen items including iPhones, electronics and lawn mowers. grass.

The Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office has charged Osman Musa and six others identified as members of a group dubbed the “Six Figure Boys” following a statewide grand jury investigation.

Police recovered at least eight guns believed to have been obtained through straw purchases or illegal transfers, as well as more than $120,000 in cash from Muya, according to a criminal complaint.

They also seized thousands of dollars in new items, such as Apple products, that they suspect were stolen.

Investigators said members of the ring committed robberies at stores that had light security or were lax in pursuing shoplifters.

Police said they found dozens of Pennsylvania photo ID cards and electronic benefits transfer cards — debit cards that store benefits such as food stamps for low-income people — kept together by elastics.

Walmart security officials later told authorities that more than 100 debit cards had been used on accounts connected to Muya, according to the complaint.

Investigators said local police departments played a role in helping dismantle what they described as a “complex network of illegal trafficking.”

Muya, 46, of Pittsburgh’s California-Kirkbride neighborhood, used his North Side pawn shop to close merchandise stolen from suburban outlet stores, often during holidays when businesses were closed, according to a criminal complaint .

The Attorney General’s Office charged Muya with counts of operating corrupt organizations, organized retail theft, conspiracy and related offenses.

Also charged were: Rami Hamdan-Toto, Alhassane Barry, Viane Hakizimam, Trey Da’Quan Carlock Bell, Mukamba Adelin and Rimon Toto.

Each man faces conspiracy and other charges for his alleged role in the operation.

Assemble it

Investigators said they became aware of the case around Independence Day 2021, when five men stole a shopping cart full of items from a Walmart in Cranberry, according to the complaint.

A year later, in July 2022, a man involved in the criminal ring walked out of a Home Depot pushing a shopping cart with about $700 worth of merchandise he had stolen, according to Ross police. A second man served as the getaway driver.

Six months later, the ring stole up to $20,000 worth of Apple products from a Walmart north of Versailles, the complaint says.

Versailles North police then charged Adelin with the burglary, the complaint states. Investigators identified him as one of the members of the network,

Adelin said Muya, the ring’s “boss,” told him to steal the merchandise and take it to his pawn shop, according to investigators.

Muya paid about $2,000 for the goods, the complaint states. He is accused of buying and reselling several stolen items.

In February 2023, one of the network members sent Muya screenshots of riding lawn mowers for sale at Lowe’s, according to the complaint.

“Would you be interested in these things, boss?” he asked, according to the complaint.

“I’ll still pay you half the new price,” Muya responded, the complaint states. “They won’t sell until the weather is nice.”

Authorities said Muya transferred money through several First Commonwealth Bank accounts he managed, as well as banking apps including CashApp, Zelle and Sendwave.

The group communicated online – and sometimes via social media – with the hashtag #6fb, investigators said. One member even posted photos of himself wearing the code on a T-shirt, according to the complaint.

Muya, Hamdan-Toto and Barry were taken to the Allegheny County Jail and arraigned Friday, authorities said.

A district judge deemed the three a “threat to the community” and denied them bail.

Bell and Hakizimam are not in custody, the attorney general’s office said.