Man wanted for mosque theft spree across NYC
The NYPD identified the suspect as 48-year-old Nabil Kartah. Police say he racked up over $10,000 during the thefts. Kartah allegedly struck two mosques in Brooklyn and one in the Bronx.
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Police are searching for the man they say is responsible for carrying out a string of thefts at six different mosques across New York City over the course of nearly two years.
The NYPD identified the suspect as 48-year-old Nabil Kartah. Police say he racked up over $10,000 during the thefts. Kartah allegedly struck two mosques in Brooklyn and one in the Bronx.
According to the NYPD, Kartah followed a similar pattern in each theft - he entered a mosque and took wallets and cash. In many cases, police say victims later noticed unauthorized charges made to their bank accounts.
The theft spree started on Oct. 18, 2024, at the Makki Masjid Muslim Community Center in Midwood. According to police, Kartah stole a wallet from an unattended jacket and fled with about $2,280 in property.
Detectives say he struck in Brooklyn again nearly a year later.
On Sept. 3, 2025, Kartah allegedly snatched a wallet from an unattended backpack inside Al-Aman Mosque in Cypress Hills. Police say he stole approximately $930 worth of property.
The most recent mosque theft happened Feb. 20 of this year in the Bronx. According to detectives, Kartah took a wallet from an unattended jacket inside Omar Mosque on the Grand Concourse and got away with around $4,440 worth of property.
Police say the three other mosque thefts happened in Queens.
According to investigators, Kartah is accused of a seventh theft that did not happen inside a mosque.
They say he stole around $5,000 from inside a parked, unlocked car in Manhattan's Lower East Side just last month.
The NYPD says its Hate Crime Task Force is investigating the cross-borough spree.
Police urge anyone with information to call the NYPD's Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477).
