A video posted to social media appears to show shoppers watching idly as a masked man pulled 49 iPhones off their security chords and shoved them in his pants.
The incident is believed to have occurred at the Apple Store on Bay Street in Oakland, California.
After filling his pants with the phones, he walked out of the store where an Oakland police cruiser was parked.
In the video, no attempts were made to apprehend him.
The phones that are on display at Apple stores usually don’t have the full capability of the normal devices but can still be valuable because of their parts and materials, according to Daily Mail.
According to Kron4, in the first month of 2024, 58 iPhones and 10 laptops were stolen from the Apple Store in nearby Berkeley, California.
Out of the five incidents that occurred in January, only one suspect had been arrested a the time of Kron4’s reporting.
Last year, eight individuals were charged for their alleged involvement in a statewide organized retail theft operation that mostly targeted different Apple store locations.
The alleged theft occurred between August 2022 and January 2023 at Apple stores in 11 California counties and resulted in a total loss of approximately $1 million, according to Fox40.
“Organized retail theft costs businesses, retailers, and consumers — and puts the public at risk,” Attorney General Rob Bonta said in a statement at the time. “Brazen criminal activity, such as the organized retail theft operation we have taken down today, will not be tolerated in California.”
“I want to thank our law enforcement partners, including the California High Patrol, for their work in apprehending these suspects, and for our continued collaborative efforts to end organized retail theft,” Bonta continued. “With these charges, we’re moving forward to hold these defendants accountable.”
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