An elderly Israeli woman returning from London was caught last Thursday trying to bring 44 iPhones into Jerusalem through Ben-Gurion International Airport by strapping them to her body.
The woman was not apprehended for failing to turn each of her iPhones to “Airplane Mode” before takeoff, but rather for smuggling. Although dressed in a traditional Georgian outfit that masked the considerable bulk and oddly geometric lumps of the iPhones strapped to her body, the woman raised suspicions by her difficulty moving.
A quick pass through a full-body scanner revealed the ruse. The woman has been released, and no official decision has been made yet as to whether or not she will be indicted or simply fined.
Why so many iPhones? Simple: Israelis pay some of the highest prices in the world for the iPhone. In fact, a 32GB iPhone 4 in Israel bought from an official carrier can cost 5,000 NIS, or almost $1400.
If that’s what an iPhone cost in America, I’d be tempted to tuck a few into nature’s pocket next time I was abroad too, wouldn’t you?
