A forklift operator at a major US airport is being charged with stealing USD147,000 of Hong Kong-bound Apple iPhones, The New York Sun reported.

Nevar Singh, an employee of a company subcontracted to handle Cathay Pacific Airlines freight, was caught on surveillance tape stealing five boxes of iPhones from a John F Kennedy International Airport warehouse.

Singh admitted to police that he and his cousin, Navin Hussain, had stolen the phones and planned to sell them to a store in the Briarwood section of Queens.

Queens district attorney Richard Browne said Singh and Hussain are being charged with second-degree grand larceny.