Smash-and-Grab Apple Store Thefts Becoming Frequent

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At least five hooded robbers broke a Greenwich, Conn. Apple Store’s glass windows with a brick early today and made off with over $10,000 in products in a matter of seconds, according to MyFOX NY. Just a few weeks back on December 6, thieves broke into a Woodcliff Lake, NJ Apple store and cleaned the place out. Police say there are similarities to the September 2009 Marlton, NJ robbery. Fast forward to 55 seconds just to see the surveillance tape. The whole robbery just takes about half a minute, and the thieves make off with 23 MacBook Pros, 14 iPhones and 9 iPod touches.

[youtube=”http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ae0KmCBrWio”&w=450%5D

These smash-and-grab robberies are growing more frequent and not only in the tri-state area. Late November, thieves operated in the same manner at a Pittsburgh, Penn. store, while one month earlier Naperville, Ill.’s Apple Store suffered a similar fate. Although it’s highly unlikely that the same group of people have been traveling cross country to undergo this operation, even earlier smash-and-grab attacks make police departments believe that many of these are copycat crimes. The famous glass Apple storefronts make it easy for this kind of attack, and with iOS devices in demand, selling the products on the black market is a lucrative deal. No arrests have been made in the latest robbery, but the Greenwich Police Department is asking people who might have any information about the theft to call (203)622-3333 or (800)372-1176.

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