Apple products have been targeted by thieves yet again, this time in a raid at a Best Buy store in Dunwoody, Georgia.
Around $100,000 worth of iPhones, iPads, Mac computers, and other Apple kit was taken, but it’s the way the crooks broke in that has surprised local cops, with one describing it as “a Mission: Impossible-style burglary.”
The perpetrators cut a hole in the roof of the store before rappelling down on ropes, bringing to mind the iconic vault scene in the first Mission: Impossible movie where Tom Cruise is lowered into a secure CIA room packed with sensors as he attempts to retrieve important data from a computer.
OK, we’re not saying the thieves had to overcome any of the security technology that Cruise and his gang had to deal with — including retina scans, vocal ID, laser nets, temperature sensors, and pressure sensitive floors — but these particular Best Buy bandits clearly considered it necessary to rappel down on ropes.
Cops said that once inside, the thieves “burrowed” their way into a locked storage area used for holding Apple gear when the store is closed.
The burglary took place on June 8, but no arrests have yet been made.
Apple products are often targeted by thieves because of their high resale value and popularity in the marketplace. The crimes, however, take various forms.
On the cruder side, some have seen gangs using hammers and other tools to simply smash their way into Apple Stores. Others have been carefully planned, such as the time a trio of thieves dressed as Apple Store employees to confuse staff and customers while they quietly stole iPhones from several stores in New York City.
But perhaps the most remarkable effort to date involved a gang stealing more than $500,000 worth of iPhones from a van as it motored along a highway in the Netherlands.
The audacious nighttime raid, which took place in 2017, is believed to have involved the robbers driving a modified van up to the rear of the targeted truck as it drove along the highway.
One of the suspects reportedly climbed onto the van’s hood before forcing his way into the back of the truck carrying the Apple gear. It’s thought he then handed the iPhones to his accomplices via a hole cut into the van’s roof. In that case, police made a number of arrests.
