Apple store robberies may not be the crimes of the century, but they should get consideration for crimes of the year. Especially the latest one in Paris on New Year’s Eve, which followed others at the beginning and middle of 2012.
A Dumb Beginning
On January 2, 2012, in Scottsdale Arizona, six teenagers smashed in through the front door of the Scottsdale Quarter Apple Store. The armed teens made off with around $80,000 worth of iPads, MacBooks and iPads. Well, three of them did anyway. A taxi driver witnessed the event and followed them. The robbers fired shots at the driver, but missed,and three of them were caught by police shortly after.
A Dumberer Middle
In September, a video of a car smashing into the facade of an Apple Store in California surfaced as perhaps the lowest point of the year in Apple Store crime. At the Apple Store in the Promenade Mall in Temecula, a blue BMW SUV served as a battering ram to the plate glass window of the store. Three men snatched display models of iPhones. This happened a week before the release of the iPhone 5. While this may seem like a clever move, as the thieves rammed their way out of the store, they left one vital clue behind… the car’s license plate.
We’ll Always Have Paris
This most recent robbery at an Apple Store in the Opera section of Paris on New Years Eve ranked much higher on the smart scale. Because police were busy monitoring the festivities on the Champs-Elysées, there weren’t a lot of eyes on the back door of the store at 9 pm, as four to five armed men forced their way in. They overpowered a janitor who was leaving for the night and made off with a little over €1 million worth of merchandise. Instead of taking individual items, the robbers grabbed boxes of stock and loaded them into a truck. The whole process took about 40 minutes.
While it seems like the thieves were taking advantage of the light coverage of the Opera section of Paris, police officials were quick to tell The Telegraph that the New Years Eve party didn’t deter from the everyday security of other parts of Paris. They did admit, however, that the crew was well organized, adding “Since the essential bulk of police forces were mobilized to patrol the Champs-Elysées, the thieves clearly profited from the opportunity to make their move.”
Not All Apple Robberies Happen At The Store
Numbers are still being calculated by officials at Apple, but this is likely the biggest Apple heist since November 2012, when $1.5 million worth of iPad minis were stolen in an inside job at JFK International Airport – reminiscent of the movie Goodfellas.
Officials are viewing video of the robbery before releasing more specifics, according to an update fromLe Figaro, the manager of the store will make a statement Wednesday afternoon.
Image courtesy of pio3 / Shutterstock.com.
