Cops nab Foxconn worker suspected of leaking iPhone 6 parts

By

Leaked-iPhone-6-5.5-inch

The iPhone 6 won’t be available for a few more days in the United States, but in mainland China, getting your fingers on Apple’s biggest screen ever is shockingly easy — and police are starting to help Foxconn crack down on leaks.

A Foxconn employee was arrested by Chinese police, reports the Wall Street Journal, for walking six shells for the iPhone 6 out the front doors of a factory in northern Shanxi province and then selling them on the black market.

Foxconn noticed the lost shells and reported the disappearance to local police in mid-August, but it took 20 days of poring over video footage to find the culprit: a 40-year-old male suspect named Qiao. The thief reportedly sold six iPhone 6 shells for a total of $960 to a gadget market in Shenzhen, which has become a famous hub for leaking gadget parts.

Buying and selling parts in the area has become so commonplace, local media reports Mr. Qiao was responding to an ad he saw in July that promised high prices for parts from Apple. On July 24, he supposedly snuck one shell past security by hiding it in his pocket and walking out at peak hours. Encouraged by the ease of the task, he allegedly stole five more shells.

After a shell has been stolen from the factory, thieves use a local courier service to send the part to an address in Shenzhen and then receive payment a few days later.

A security detail at the factory’s development have confirmed that a suspect has been detained and that they’re working with Foxconn to investigate the incident. Apple declined to comment on the arrest, and Foxconn merely states that it expects employees to follow its internal code of conduct.

Source: WSJ

Newsletters

Daily round-ups or a weekly refresher, straight from Cult of Mac to your inbox.

  • The Weekender

    The week's best Apple news, reviews and how-tos from Cult of Mac, every Saturday morning. Our readers say: "Thank you guys for always posting cool stuff" -- Vaughn Nevins. "Very informative" -- Kenly Xavier.