Police arrested nine suspects in England after a raid on an Apple Store. The dramatic incident saw authorities employ a helicopter and officers on the ground during the search for the thieves.
The robbery took place in Basingstoke, the largest town in the county of Hampshire. Three thieves involved in the incident attacked a security guard, before making off with seven iPhones.
“We received a call shortly after midday today (13 November) with reports that seven iPhones were stolen from the Apple Store in Festival Place,” said a spokesperson for Hampshire Constabulary. “Officers deployed to the area and have arrested a total of nine people as part of this investigation. They are all in police custody at this time. We have also recovered all seven of the missing phones.”
Police are asking any members of the public who witnessed the incident to come forward to provide evidence.
Apple Store robberies: Helicopters, gangs and more
Apple Stores are, unfortunately, routinely targeted by thieves. That’s because of the relatively limited security compared to the resale value of the goods, which are on public display. The Apple Store robberies take place all around the world. Earlier this month, thieves in Franklin, Tennessee, stole 17 Apple Watches, worth $9,000.
The most significant spate of Apple Store robberies took place in California in 2018. These resulted in the theft of more than $1 million worth of devices. Police ultimately arrested a gang of 17 people.
Apple takes some preventative steps to avoid thefts. For instance, the company uses special versions of its software for all demo devices, which supposedly disables them if removed from the store. However, clearly this has solved the problem. In some parts of the United States, Cupertino hires off-duty police officers to guard Apple Stores. That approach isn’t possible everywhere, though.
Still, we’re glad to hear that this latest robbery ended up with the suspects being arrested.
Source: Daily Echo
