Federal cops arrested three men accused of pulling off a massive armed robbery on Long Island earlier this year. The suspects allegedly hijacked a delivery truck parked right outside an Apple store at the Americana Manhasset shopping center in New York. According to court records released this week, the crew got away with over a million dollars worth of devices before leaving the delivery drivers tied up. The theft required a lot of planning to pull off.
Masked men move the delivery truck to a hidden spot
The attack happened on the morning of January 3. Two workers were getting ready to unload merchandise when a black Honda Accord pulled up. Three masked men jumped out with handguns.
They shoved one worker into the back of the delivery truck and bound his hands with zip ties. They pointed a gun at the second worker and made him drive to a quiet parking lot behind a nearby office building.
Once they parked, the thieves threw the driver into the back of the truck and tied him up next to his coworker.
The crew loads the stolen devices into a rented truck
The thieves had a second vehicle waiting for them. A Home Depot box truck pulled up and backed directly into the hijacked delivery vehicle. Prosecutors say one of the suspects rented the box truck using a fake ID.
By lining up the back doors, the men hid their actions from anyone walking by. They quickly unloaded more than $1.2 million in stolen goods. The massive haul included brand new MacBooks, iPhones, iPads, and Apple Watches.
After emptying the shelves, the robbers slammed the cargo doors shut and left the two victims trapped inside.
Police track the getaway vehicle and find the hiding place
One of the victims managed to break free and call the police shortly after the suspects drove away. Detectives used GPS data and license plate readers to follow the path of the Home Depot truck.
The digital trail led them straight to a storage unit in New Jersey, where the thieves stashed the stolen gear. Police eventually found the abandoned rental truck in the Bronx and pulled fingerprints off a rental agreement left inside.
Video footage from a nearby breakfast restaurant also caught one of the suspects wearing the exact same clothes used during the robbery. The three men are now in federal custody, facing serious prison time.
Cargo theft remains a massive headache for the tech industry. Because it makes small but incredibly valuable products, Apple constantly sees its shipments targeted by organized theft rings before the items ever reach a store display.
