A brilliant robbery straight out of a Hollywood film occurred at an Apple Store in the US, just as you were beginning to believe that the plot of Money robbery was ingeniously creative and that such things actually occur in reality. Thieves tunneled their way into the store through a bathroom and made off with 436 iPhones valued at a staggering Rs 4.10 crore in a scene that may have been taken straight out of ‘Ocean’s Eleven’.
According to King 5 News, a local news station in Seattle, robbers broke into Seattle Coffee Gear and made a hole in the restroom wall to access the Apple Store’s backroom. Using the nearby coffee shop as a cover, the thieves got past the security system at the Apple Store and made off with 436 iPhones, which are valued at about $500,000, or roughly Rs. 4.10 crore.
The morning following the incident, Eric Marks, the regional retail manager, said that he had received a call, although he wasn’t sure what to anticipate. The police did confirm that his store had been exploited to get access to the Apple Store, though.
“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.”
The CEO of the coffee shop- Mike Atkinson also posted about the incident on Twitter with a picture of the tunnel that the burglars created in the Apple Store’s bathroom ” Two men broke into one of our retail locations. Why? To cut a hole in our bathroom wall to access the Apple Store next door and steal $500k worth of iPhones,” he tweeted.
Seattle Coffee Gear had to change their locks, which cost close to $900, and they anticipate spending between $600 and $800 on bathroom renovations. The retailer’s location, Alderwood Mall, is assisting the police in their investigation into the crime. According to Seattle’s King 5 News, Atkinson and other others have come to suspect that the crime was an inside job because of how quickly and precisely it was carried out.
The fact that most burglaries target banks, jewelry stores, and other establishments to steal money or valuables makes this one more intriguing. The iPhone 14, which has a starting price of $699, is one example of an Apple product with significant demand in the underground market despite its high retail price.
Additionally, because of the abundance of products on display and their accessibility, burglars frequently target Apple Stores. In addition, a lot of Apple Stores rely on the mall where they are located for security because they lack their own security staff.
Apple has not yet released a statement regarding the theft and typically doesn’t comment on shop thefts.
The first two Apple retail locations in India have now officially opened, according to Apple CEO Tim Cook. The first store opened on April 18 in Mumbai BKC, and the second one debuted on April 20 in the Select City Walk shopping centre in Saket, Delhi. Tim Cook also had a meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his trip to India on Wednesday in New Delhi.
Also Read: Half of all iPhone production to take place in India by 2027
