Police foil £1m mobile phone theft

The future's not so bright for someone

By Tim Richardson • Get more from this author

Posted in Mobile, 6th October 2005 11:25 GMT

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A man is appearing before magistrates today in connection with the theft of £1m worth of Orange mobile phones.

The phones were nicked after a robbery at a motorway service station on the M5 at around 4pm on Tuesday.

A lorry driver stopped at Frankley Services after a car flashed its lights at him. He was then threatened with a gun and forced to drive to Wolverhampton.

His load of Orange mobile phones which police say are worth at least £1m was in the process of being loaded onto another vehicle when police moved in.

The driver, a man in his 40s from West Bromwich, was shaken but not hurt, said police.

A spokesman for Orange confirmed that all stock was accounted for at the scene.

Thirteen people were arrested by West Midlands Police. Three men remain in custody. One, a 54-year-old Walsall man, is before Redditch Magistrates today charged with conspiracy to steal.

Police are appealing for witnesses. ®

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