Police Catch Thieves Who Stole $74K Worth of Apple Devices from Target

A band of thieves in the New York area have been charged with stealing nearly $74,000 in Apple products from a local big box store.

The three Brooklyn men reportedly broke into a secured case at a Target store in Dover, Delaware between 9 and 9:30 p.m. on Nov. 25 and stole a slew of various Apple products, according to local news outlet WDEL.

They didn’t stop there, however. Police said the robbers tried again at another Target location in nearby Christiana, Delaware — but ultimately failed.

During that attempt, Target loss prevention staff managed to get a description of the suspects’ vehicle and gave that information to local police and other Target locations.

When the vehicle was eventually spotted at another Target location in Brandywine, Delaware State Police troopers stopped and searched it.

In the vehicle, state troopers found all of the stolen merchandise — which was valued at around $73,893. The thieves were then arrested, authorities said.

The three men were all charged with second-degree conspiracy, organized retail crime and possession of shoplifting tools. They were all committed to the Sussex Correctional Institution.

It isn’t exactly clear what specific Apple products were stolen, as many Target locations don’t stock more expensive devices like MacBooks. That being said, it’s possible that the thieves made off with plenty of iPhones, Apple Watches and Apple accessories.

Apple Theft

Apple products have long been an attractive target for thieves and robbers, and heists of brick-and-mortar Apple Stores have been fairly common in the past.

That being said, the display devices are most Apple retail locations are actually outfitted with special security mechanisms like location tracking and a software “killswitch” that renders stolen products useless.

While new-in-box products at big box stores like Target don’t carry the same type of security features, it’s still possible for specific devices to be tracked by authorities.

Because of all that, theft of Apple products appears to be becoming less common as time goes on. That’s especially true for user-owned devices, which feature Activation Lock, Find My iPhone and various other apps that make theft a poor choice.