Employee steals 25 iPhones worth $16,000 from Apple Store

Well, it looks like an Apple store in Charlotte is the latest retail location to suffer from theft, as a total of 25 iPhones valued at over $16,000 was reported stolen, according to The Charlotte Observer.  These iPhones were taken from Apple’s Northlake Mall retail store in Charlotte, North Carolina, and it’s believed to be orchestrated by an inside man.

“The iPhones were stolen from the Genius Room located inside of the store,” a Charlotte-Mecklenburg police report says. “The suspect did have access to the Genius Room.” The stolen phones, which are valued at $16,425, include 22 16-gigabyte iPhone 4S models, one 64-GB 4S model, one eight-GB iPhone 4 model and one 32-GB 4S model.

Charlotte’s local news channel confirmed that the suspect was a store employee and that the 25 phones were stolen over a period of time between December 1 and January 11. Police are reportedly searching for the suspect. It’s really not surprising to see this kind of thing happen, as iPhones are targeted more than most priced possessions, according to an internal New York City Police report.

My thing is, how in the world did this person believe in its mind that they’d get away with this? This is Apple we’re talking about, you know, the same company who hires ex-FBI agents and other highly trained pros with backgrounds in intelligence and law enforcement — to handle these types of things. That said, I’m sure this person will be apprehended soon.

[via MacRumors, image via Shutterstock, Adchariyaphoto]