€2m iPhone bounty stolen
Thieves slice open roof to pinch 4000 iPhones
The iPhone could be in short supply across Belgium this Christmas, because thieves have stolen some 4000 units of the smartphone worth an estimated €2m (£1.7m/$2.9m).
After using a fire ladder to climb onto the roof of a logistics company’s “immense” warehouse in Willebroek, Belgium last weekend, the smart phone thieves then cut a hole in the roof directly above where the iPhones were being stored – according to a report by website De Standard.
The thieves obviously had some insider knowledge about when and where the Apple bounty would be deposited.
The iPhone cargo was destined for network operator Mobistar, which has since said it knows the serial number of every stolen iPhone – rendering the handsets useless.
A fresh supply of iPhones is currently on its way to Mobistar. Hopefully the hole in the warehouse roof has since been patched. ®
COMMENTS
Maybe Apple will block our stolen handsets from UPGRADES now.
How exactly will they be rendered useless? they will still be connectible to ITunes, its not hard to create a false name account because they dont block stolen handsets connecting to Itunes do they? Else why have they not blocked 3 of my stolen handsets? Ill tell you why, because Apple make a fortune also from stolen handset replacements, that why they will not block handsets registered as stolen to ITunes. The only block I possibly know of is a IMEI number block for the phone. so they are effectively powerful Ipod Touch devices now. I dont think they thieves have thought this through though, they will be traced eventually, the qty is too much.
Someone correct me if Im wrong on this please, but in a way Im glad because now Apple are forced to think again about implementing some policy of totally blocking the handsets from updates based on IMEI number. If they did that, the market for stolen handsets and the need for others to steal them would be killed overnight.
Handsets not useless...
someone will export them to Asia, where they will be hawked at huge prices and the seller vanish - leaving those that buy them with a non-functional device and no one to blame but themselves.
Waiting to see 4'000 Android phones being stolen ...
... won't happen
