Thieves smash car through front door of Berlin Apple store in twilight heist

Posted:
in General Discussion edited January 2014
Thieves crashed a compact car through the front door of Apple's Kurf?rstendamm store in Berlin and made off with several display devices during an early Monday morning smash-and-grab.

Apple Store Berlin


German police suspect the robbery was committed by a gang that is believed to have hit several other high-end retailers in the nation's capital city, according to Bloomberg. Most recently, the same crew is thought to have staged a similar break-in at a shopping mall near Berlin's famous Alexanderplatz square that saw the thieves make off with about ?100,000 worth of electronics earlier in December.

The bandits used a stolen Opel Corsa, a small hatchback similar to a Honda Civic, as a motorized battering ram to break through the store's glass front doors at 4:15 a.m. local time. Because the store's inventory had been locked away for the night, only around 20 demonstration iPhones, iPads, and laptops were taken, according to Thomas Neuendorf of the Berlin police department.

After grabbing the merchandise, the group reportedly sped off in two Audis. Authorities declined to place a value on the haul.

Apple Store Berlin
Source: Bild.de


Photos and video of the scene show one of the several-inch-thick steel-framed glass doors having been thrown completely off of its hinges, while several iPhones were missing from a display near the entrance. Workers have already begun to repair the damage, and the store is open for business as usual.

At least two other Apple stores have been marred by vehicular run-ins in just over a year. The company's Lincoln Park, Chicago store was the scene of an accident earlier this year, while thieves using a similar M.O. to the Berlin robbery smashed the front windows of the Temecula, Calif. Apple store last September.

The Kurf?rstendamm store is Apple's only retail outlet in Berlin and opened in May of this year. The store, located in a renovated 100-year-old theater in one of Berlin's most prestigious shopping districts, was Apple's 12th shop in Germany and took at least two years to construct.

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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 23
    froodfrood Posts: 771member

    LOL

     

    Waiting for, 'Thieves arrested when trying to use stolen devices.'

     

    'Find my thief' feature.

  • Reply 2 of 23

    I blame the jailbreakers.

  • Reply 3 of 23
    tnsftnsf Posts: 203member
    The thieves will be very disappointed when Apple corporate security tells police the location of all devices and then bricks them.
  • Reply 4 of 23
    With this kind of smash and grab becoming popular, Apple should think about implementing security barriers on the sidewalks in front of the stores. And since Apple has invested so much into sapphire glass, use that in the stores' glass fronts ;)
  • Reply 5 of 23
    Good. I am not happy with Apple at the moment due to my macbook
  • Reply 6 of 23

    I'm pretty sure Microsoft would love that thieves "smash" one of their store...:p 

  • Reply 7 of 23
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Seankill View Post



    Good. I am not happy with Apple at the moment due to my macbook

    OK. You win the Nonsensically Random Post of the Year award (even though we're only 357 days into the year).

  • Reply 8 of 23
    Apple should have a secondary metal curtain that drops down on all openings once a breach is detected to hold the theives in, like animals in a cage, until the police arrive.
  • Reply 9 of 23
    tnsftnsf Posts: 203member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Derek Bolander View Post



    Apple should have a secondary metal curtain that drops down on all openings once a breach is detected to hold the theives in, like animals in a cage, until the police arrive.

     

    That won't stop Thomas Crown.

  • Reply 10 of 23
    This article has two more photos:

    http://www.ifoapplestore.com/2013/12/23/high-profile-store-targeted-by-burglars/#more-15253

    This a bit lame, but will be good business for these guys:

    http://www.glasspolish.eu
  • Reply 11 of 23

    Blitzkreig!!

  • Reply 12 of 23
    sockrolidsockrolid Posts: 2,789member
    RUPTLY? Huh?
  • Reply 13 of 23
    jungmarkjungmark Posts: 6,926member
    In unrelated news, a similar incident occurred at a nearby MS store. Nothing was missing but inventory for the Surface 1&2 increased.
  • Reply 14 of 23
    From the description of the heist, it sounds like Jason Statham has hit rock bottom.
  • Reply 15 of 23
    lkrupplkrupp Posts: 10,557member

    I’m waiting to see this happen at a Microsoft or Samsung store. Just not worth it I guess.

  • Reply 16 of 23
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by marokero View Post



    With this kind of smash and grab becoming popular, Apple should think about implementing security barriers on the sidewalks in front of the stores. And since Apple has invested so much into sapphire glass, use that in the stores' glass fronts image

     

    Many stores do have these.  The new Palo Alto store on University has really, really ugly barricades that are totally obnoxious (they're the big white and orange highway divider type).  They need to design attractive barriers that provide some sort of additional function.

  • Reply 17 of 23
    adonissmuadonissmu Posts: 1,776member

    Don't these people know there is tracking all over the floor models?

  • Reply 18 of 23
    hill60hill60 Posts: 6,992member
    These phones etc are worthless for anything other than being stripped down for parts.
  • Reply 19 of 23
    welshdogwelshdog Posts: 1,897member
    I not sure why Apple has not deployed the pop-up bollards that would prevent this sort of thing. They are recessed into the pavement and rapidly rise when the mass of a vehicle is detected.
  • Reply 20 of 23

    Noticed on TV tonight that Microsoft is offering $ 50 off on xBox 1...Could it be it's not selling as well as they would like?

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