Armed robbers broke
into a central Paris Apple store on New Year's Eve, stealing goods with an
estimated value of one million Euros (£813,000).The police said that four
masked men forced their way into the shop. It comes as New York mayor Michael
Bloomberg claims that the theft of Apple goods has contributed to rising street
crime figures in the city. The Metropolitan Police told the BBC the trend
towards stealing gadgets was "significant". Thieves broke into the
Apple store behind the Paris Opera at around 21:00 (20:00 GMT) on Monday, three
hours after the shop closed. The police did not confirm the value of the goods
stolen by the robbers, who escaped afterwards in a van. A spokesman for the
police union Unsa told reporters: "As the majority of police were busy
watching the Champs Elysees [for New Year's Eve celebrations], the robbers took
advantage of this opportunity."
STREET
CRIME
The theft comes as the
desirability of Apple goods among street criminals is being blamed for a rise
in crime figures in New York. According to the New York Police Department, some
3,890 Apple products were stolen in 2012, pushing crime figures up and
prompting Mayor Bloomberg to say that thieves in the city were showing a
preference for Apple goods. His press secretary later said that if the jump in
stolen Apple products was removed, crime figures would have been down for the
year. According to London's Metropolitan Police, street criminals in London are
increasingly targeting easy-to-steal gadgets, although they do not provide a
breakdown of the brands most favored by thieves."In general the more you
paid for a gadget the more interest it will be to street robbers," said a
spokesman."We are constantly reminding people to register their
goods," he added. What police have seen, he said, is a change in the
profile of victims as thieves become less likely to steal cash and more likely
to steal phones which are "highly sellable on the second-hand
market"."Victims now are far less likely to be a bashed-up pensioner
and more likely to be a young professional who has had a phone grabbed out of
their hand or pocket," he said. One of the most high-profile Apple store
break-ins in the capital was a smash and grab at Apple's flagship Covent Garden
store in October 2011. A gang of motorbike thieves broke into the shop,
stealing up to £75,000 worth of goods. Two men were later convicted of robbery.
source:bbc.co.uk
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