An alleged member of a Russia-based human smuggling network used at least seven Apple AirTags to stalk his ex-wife. Unfortunately for the man, his stalking activity led to his being jailed.
Tajikistan citizen Ibodullo Muhiddinov Numanovich, who was living in the United States, allegedly smuggled his ex-wife into the States. Once the woman, known only in court documents as “S.K.,” arrived in the U.S., Numanovich hid several AirTags on her car to allow him to track her location.
Numanovich is said to have hidden at least seven Apple AirTags on the woman’s vehicle during March and April. As noted in a report by 404 Media, he hid the tracking tags in the vehicle’s wheel wells, its front bumper, and even its side mirror casings.
S.K. discovered the first AirTag tracker, and then FBI investigators on the trail of Numanovich found six more hidden tags. The FBI then played a Reverse UNO on the smuggler, using the AirTags to monitor him and lure him to his arrest. Agents nabbed Numanovich when he returned to hide even more tags on S.K.’s vehicle.
In addition to tracking his ex-wife, Numanovich also used sexually explicit images and videos of her to attempt to deter her from seeking assistance.
Officials say Numanovich is a member of a large, international human smuggling network that is operated out of Russia. The report says he had several bank accounts. One account made over $2.3 million in transactions, while another account made $2.2 million in transactions. A third account showed a single month’s activity of $74,000 in deposits and $64,872 in withdrawals.
Numanovich, who is set to stand trial on June 8, has pled not guilty to the stalking charges.
iPhone users will receive a notification if an AirTag that does not belong to them is tracking their location, allowing them to disable the device’s tracking feature. Android users can use Apple’s Android Tracker Detect app, to detect if they’re being tracked. In both cases, users can force an AirTag to emit a sound if it’s detected near a user.
An Apple Support document on the feature says that if you think someone is using an AirTag or another item tracker to track your location, you can scan to try to find it. If the app detects an AirTag or compatible item tracker near you for at least 10 minutes, you can play a sound to help locate it.
The Tracker Detect app for Android devices is free and is available in the Google Play Store.