PORTSMOUTH, Va. — Postal inspectors need your help finding three suspects after two USPS letter carriers were robbed in Portsmouth.
Both incidents happened within minutes of each other on Thursday, May 18. The U.S. Postal Inspection Service said the first robbery happened near Channing Avenue and Prospect Parkway around 2 p.m. and the second happened a few blocks away in the 1800 block of Redgate Drive. That's in the Cradock section of Portsmouth.
Investigators said the three suspects were men wearing black clothing and lime-green ski masks.
Postal inspectors tell 13News Now some mail items were stolen, and that the letter carriers were unhurt. They believe they have identified the suspects and are "reaching out to them."
The robberies happened just a day after Postmaster General Louis DeJoy testified before the House Oversight Committee Subcommittee on Government Operations and the Federal Workforce, where lawmakers discussed an "alarming trend" of mail-related crimes, including check theft and assaults on more than 2,000 postal workers since 2020.
"So these incidents, according to the Postal Service, are increasingly becoming more prevalent. The problem is getting more serious," Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Maryland) said during the hearing on May 17.
The Postal Inspection Service has said it received roughly 3,000 complaints about mail theft from March 2020 through February 2021.
If you know anything that can help investigators with last Thursday's robberies or if you believe your mail was stolen, you're asked to call the USPIS at 877-876-2455. Postal inspectors are offering a reward of up to $50,000.