Stolen iPhone found by owner using tracking app

A woman who had her iPhone stolen at Mustangs nightclub in Killarney used the ‘Find My Phone’ app to track it down to a repair shop in Cork City. A subsequent Garda inquiry led to the discovery of 13 stolen phones, many of them taken from nightspots in the town.

Sampson Nkqayi, aged 43, who runs a shop at 17, Shandon St in Cork, pleaded guilty at Cork Circuit Criminal Court to multiple counts of handling stolen property. Judge David Riordan imposed a two-year jail sentence on Nkqayi and ordered him to do 240 hours of community service.

“Hats off to the lady who used the app and brought it to the attention of the gardaí,” Judge Riordan said.

Detective Garda Michelle Roche from Killarney Garda station investigated the theft of four phones, three of them taken from young women out socialising at Mustangs nightclub on Main Street, Killarney, and one taken from a woman on a night out at the Grand Hotel in the town in May 2013.

She said one of the owners had reported that an app showed her missing phone to be at 17 Shandon Street.

Detective Roche obtained a search warrant and located the stolen property. The owner, Nkqayi, claimed the phones had been handed in for repair but had no supporting documentation.