Apple Heist: Thieves enter Apple store through a tunnel in bathroom, steal 436 iPhones worth 34.10 crores The two burglars got in and out the place within 15 minutes.
The recent theft of 436 iPhones, worth an estimated $500,000 (around Rs 4.1 crore), from an Apple Store in Lynnwood, Washington, has left many people stunned.
Instead of breaking through the secured glass doors of the store, perpetrators took a different approach by tunnelling into the neighbouring Coffee store earlier this month, creating a large hole in the bathroom wall to gain access to the backroom of the Apple Store.
Mike Atkinson, CEO of Seattle Coffee Gear, said on Twitter that surveillance footage shows the two perpetrators getting in and out "in under 15 minutes." The speed and detailed execution of this theft has some, like Atkinson, suspecting this was an inside job. In an interview with King 5 News, regional retail manager Eric Marks said the perpetrators even cut through the bathroom wall without hitting any pipes.
Eric Marks, the regional retail manager revealed that he received a call the morning after the incident but was unsure of what to expect. However, the police confirmed that his shop had been used to access the Apple Store.
"I would have never suspected we were adjacent to the ? Apple Store ?, how it wraps around I mean," Marks told King 5 News. "So, someone really had to think it out and have access to the mall layout."
Additionally, thieves often target Apple Stores because there are many products on display and easily accessible. Also, many Apple Stores do not have their own security personnel and rely on the security provided by the mall they are located in.
Meanwhile, Apple has not made any statement about the theft and usually does not comment on store thefts.
In the other news, Apple CEO Tim Cook has finally opened the first two Apple retail stores in India. The first store was opened in Mumbai BKC on April 18, while the second store was unveiled on April 20, at Select City Walk mall in Saket, Delhi. On his tour in India, Tim Cook also met Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi on Wednesday.
