Caught On Tape: NYPD Detective Steals $2,650 For Himself During Raid Over Untaxed Cigarettes

Chris | InformationLiberation
Apr. 10, 2015

NYPD detective Ian Cyrus, 49, was caught on video allegedly stealing $2,650 from a Brooklyn deli during a raid over untaxed cigarettes.

An undercover officer allegedly bought a pack of Newport cigarettes from the deli for $9 which police say didn't have a "tax stamp," two employees were arrested as a result and $593 was officially seized, as well as the rest of the untaxed cigarettes.

Unofficially, $2,650 which detective Cyrus found in a box under the store's counter was pocketed, with no mention of it being seized in the report. The box contained money used by the deli's manager to pay for rent.

Initially upon finding the money was missing, store manager Ali Abdullah suspected an employee had stolen it, but upon reviewing surveillance camera footage he realized it actually appeared to have been stolen by a police detective during the raid.

After local media covered the story, NYPD detective Ian Cryus was suspended without pay, his supervisor was stripped of his badge and moved to desk duty, and another officer involved who allegedly failed to report the deli owner's complaint was placed on modified duty.