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In the latest Apple Crime Blotter, Car thieves in Washington reject Android phone, sentencing in New Hampshire iPhone plot, and an iPhone heist in the Netherlands.
Carnegie Library Apple Store
The latest in an occasional AppleInsider series, looking at the world of Apple-related crime.
Man arrested on child pornography charges in sting outside Apple Store
The owner of a gym in Washington was arrested in late November on charges that he distributed child sex abuse images, and the FBI sting took place outside of a District Apple Store.
According to WTOP, an employee of the hookup app Sniffies notified authorities that a user on the app was attempting to contact underage males. Later, an undercover FBI agent established contact with the man and exchanged the offending images.
The agent later set up an in-person sting in front of the Carnegie Library Apple Store, where the man was arrested.
Car thieves reject Android phone, wanted iPhone instead
Washington is reportedly suffering a car theft crisis, and one recent story indicates that car thieves prefer iPhones to Android ones.
KATV reports a man was robbed in Washington by two masked gunmen, after parking his car. They attempted to steal his phone, the man's wife told the TV station, only to reject it when they discovered he had an Android phone and not an iPhone.
The man's wife had used the car to make Uber Eats and Instacart deliveries.
iPhone shipment worth 1.7 million euros stolen from Schiphol airport
A large parcel of iPhones, worth 1.7 million euros, was stolen from a freight company at Schiphol airport in the Netherlands at the end of October, NL Times reported. Per the report, the man posed as a truck driver and carried out the theft.
A video of the crime, the report said, indicated that "the man is not an experienced trucker. He drove in fits and starts and appeared very nervous."
Another iPhone theft totaling 3 million euros took place at the same airport in July of 2020.
Defendant in Nashua iPhone theft plot gets a year and a day in federal prison
The New Hampshire man who was hired to transport $2 million in stolen iPhones, iPads, and more -- and later was accused of forging documents to cover his tracks -- has been sentenced to a year and a day in prison, following his guilty plea in June.
According to the Justice Department, 31-year-old Guangwei "William" Wu also received a year of supervised release, and a $10,000 fine, and must make restitution.
'Reservoir Dogs'-inspired robbers used "iPhone cables" to tie up victims
They didn't cut off anyone's ear, but a group of robbers in the San Antonio area reportedly were inspired by the movie Reservoir Dogs, using names like Mr. Red, Mr. Pink and Mr. Yellow. One of the accused robbers has been arrested.
Fox San Antonio says the robbers entered a home and robbed the inhabitants at gunpoint. When other victims arrived at the house, per the report, they were tied up using "Apple iPhone cables."
One family member told the media outlet that he had an affair with a woman, and he believed the robbers, who seemed to know the layout of the home and the location of multiple safes, were connected to that woman.