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Nov. 30, 2009

iPhones that are definitely linked to a large Belgian heist that occured three weeks ago are now being illegally unloaded in Russia in batches of 100 units or more.

Russian bloggers report that Apple iPhones in brand new conditions are being offered in batches of one-hundred units at "rediculously low prices" to wholesalers in Moscow's notorious Gorbushka electronics marketplace.

Since the smartphones are all unlocked and have Belgian model numbers on them, they are believed to be stolen from the largest iPhone heist to date: an industrial-scale robbery in which thieves cut a hole in the roof of a warehouse in the Antwerp province in Belgium and hauled off 3,000 to 4,000 iPhones on Nov. 10.

Overall, Belgium is one of only 3 countries in Europe that sells iPhones without a SIM-lock, which makes the stolen phones easier to steal and resell in other countries.

Speaking on conditions of full anonymity, the owner of a store at Gorbushka told iPhone.ru last week that the "Europeans (as the hot iPhones have been called since the robbery) have already started to appear in the Russian market's stores."

Various authorities advise potential buyers of the iPhones to check the seven-character model number under Settings/General/Model before they buy.

If the last two letters end with NF, they have been stolen in Belgium.

But many store owners simply don't want to be involved with any of those hot iPhones writes iPhone.ru's Arthur Malosiev, since they've already heard that Interpol has the iPhones' IMEI numbers.

The dealers are afraid the police will confiscate their goods if buyers start complaining that their new phones have stopped working with local SIM cards, and that represents a big risk that those shop keepers simply aren't willing to take.

"But some wholesalers who aren't aware of the heist in Belgium are still selling them in batches of 75 or more," added Malosiev.

It's only a question of time before Interpol starts making arrests.

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Source: iPhone.ru.