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In the latest Apple Crime Blotter, a January 6 defendant is accused of wiping iCloud data, an ATM thief accused of rigging an iPhone, and a stolen MacBook contained a couple’s wedding photos.
The latest in an occasional AppleInsider series, looking at the world of Apple-related crime.
Miami airport cargo handlers accused of stealing $21,000 worth of Apple products
Police have arrested a pair of Miami International Airport cargo workers who they say stole more than $21,000 worth of Apple electronics that were headed for a logistics company in Chile.
According to Local 10, “five MacBook Pro laptops, 30 Apple AirPods and AirPods Pro, plus 20 Apple iPhones and a charging cable worth a total of $21,728.35” were taken. The two men worked for a subcontractor for the Chilean airline LATAM.
They were charged with grand theft and organized scheme to defraud.
Suspect sought for using stolen credit cards for Apple Store spree in Florida
Also in South Florida, police in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., are looking for a suspect who they say entered an office and stole credit cards from an office employee who was busy on a conference call. Local 10 reports the man then went to the nearby Apple Store and used those cards to spend $7,000 on various items.
The man, however, was caught on Apple Store surveillance video, as released by the Ft. Lauderdale Police Department:
Australian drug dealer’s iPhone could implicate hundreds of customers
The recent busting of a large drug syndicate in Australia has uncovered a “dial-a-dealer” scheme that has the potential to implicate a massive number of people, The Daily Mail reported in late May.
According to the report, a single iPhone seized in the raid contained 700 alleged customers of the drug ring, while investigators still have many more phones to pour through.
The raid led to 18 arrests and followed a 10-month investigation. The raids found “Cocaine, MDMA, ecstasy, cannabis, stacks of cash and luxury watches and [jewelry],” the outlet said.
January 6 defendant accused of deleting iCloud data
Many of the hundreds of people arrested concerning the January 6, 2021, Capitol riot had evidence from their iCloud accounts used against them. Now, one suspected rioter has been accused of deleting data from his iCloud account.
THV 11 says prosecutors say in a filing that the defendant deleted all data from that particular day, which was discovered after they obtained a search warrant.
The defendant, Richard “Bigo” Barnett, became notorious after being photographed that day with his feet up on House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s desk. He is scheduled to stand trial in September.
Medical student accused of placing iPhone camera in ATMs
A British medical student has been accused of rigging ATM booths in Kent with iPhone cameras in order to steal cards and pin numbers. According to Kent Online, the man was caught after residents raised the alarm that their cards became jammed in the machine, and one found a concealed iPhone recording the pin pad.
The same man had been given a suspended sentence for a similar scheme in Birmingham.
Man charged with stealing two iPhones at Bali airport
A man was arrested and charged with stealing a pair of iPhones from a fellow traveler in a bathroom at the Ngurah Rai Airport in Bali, Indonesia.
Coconuts.co reports the victim had left his two iPhones on a urinal stall and left without picking them up. The thief was caught once authorities perused security footage.
He returned the phones but was arrested anyway and charged with theft.
Man finds son’s stolen car by tracking Apple Watch
A man in Memphis was able to track down a stolen car belonging to his son by tracking the son’s Apple Watch, using Find My iPhone. According to WGNO, the car was tracked to a specific neighborhood, where the father found the alleged thief sitting in the driver’s seat.
The man in the seat claimed that he’d bought the car from another man. But police charged him with theft of property, aggravated burglary, unlawful possession of a weapon, and possession of a controlled substance.
Stolen MacBook contained couple’s wedding photos
A newlywed couple said that a MacBook Pro was stolen from the couple’s wedding photographer and with it the only copies of their wedding photos.
KMBC explains the computer and memory card were taken from the photographer’s car hours after the wedding while the photographer was taking pictures for another wedding.
St. Louis corruption indictment included iPhone 11
A federal indictment was returned on June 2 that named two current aldermen in St. Louis and one former.
According to the announcement of the indictment, one of the accused officials, John Collins-Muhammad, improperly received a new iPhone 11 from a businessman, along with a car, $7,000 cash, and $3,000 in campaign contributions.
Collins-Muhammad resigned his seat in May.
