Beijing police have arrested three men accused of tunneling into a warehouse and stealing 240 iPhone 6 units. Police said the three men broke into the facility between Dec. 12 and 13 via a 20-inch hole through the wall of the warehouse owned by a Chinese logistics firm.
The men — one of whom was previously employed by the company as a driver — used money gleaned from the devices’ sale to gamble and purchase cars and gold, according to state-owned news agency Xinhua. The phones’ serial numbers were used to track down the thieves, though it remains unclear what role they played.
The iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus have proven to be extremely popular in China, with Apple widely expected to announce record sales of the devices there later this month.
Earlier this month, a man was arrested at the Hong Kong border when he attempted to smuggle 94 iPhones into mainland China. The man attempted to sneak the devices past customs officials. The man’s “weird walking posture, joint stiffness, muscle tension” raised the official’s suspicions.
iPhones remain in high demand on China, due to the sheer numbers of potential buyers, and the high luxury tax leveled on such products as the iPhone by the Chinese government.
