Suffolk police seek woman accused of stealing $19,000 package in Melville

Suffolk County police are looking for a woman they say used fraudulent identification to pick up a package containing $19,000 in silver bars and coins from a FedEx shipment center in Melville, a case that puts the company’s verification procedures squarely under scrutiny.

Investigators say the theft happened at about 5 p.m. on March 23 at the FedEx Shipment Center at 270 Express Drive South. Police said the suspect used a fake identification card to claim the package and then fled in a white electric Chevrolet Equinox, turning a routine pickup into a high-value theft in one of Suffolk’s busiest logistics corridors.

Suffolk County Crime Stoppers is offering a cash reward for information that leads to an arrest. Tips can be made anonymously by calling 1-800-220-TIPS, or through encrypted reporting channels using the P3 Tips app and website.

The Melville theft is the second reported fraudulent pickup tied to the same FedEx location in five months. In the earlier case, police said a woman used a fraudulent authorization form on Oct. 23, 2025, to take a package in someone else’s name from the same Express Drive South site. That package contained a watch valued at $4,650.

The repetition at the same facility raises a basic security question for FedEx and for police: what part of the pickup process failed, and what was different, if anything, between the two incidents? Suffolk County police said they could not yet say whether the cases are connected.

The case also comes against the backdrop of a larger Suffolk County crackdown on package theft. In November 2025, prosecutors said 14 people were indicted in a broader FedEx theft ring investigation that involved 48 alleged pattern acts of theft from October 2023 through February 2025 and 50 felony charges. That history suggests the Melville incidents are not isolated to one counter or one suspect, but fit a wider pattern of fraud targeting delivery hubs on Long Island.

For anyone sending or receiving valuable packages, the immediate takeaway is simple: treat pickup verification as part of the security plan, not an afterthought. High-value shipments should be tracked closely, held only for verified recipients, and protected with stronger release requirements whenever possible. A package with precious metals, watches or other expensive goods should never depend on a casual handoff at the counter. In Melville, investigators say, that check failed.