Thieves Tunnel Through Coffee Shop Wall to Steal $500,000 in iPhones From Washington Apple Store

An Apple Store at the Alderwood Mall was burgled last weekend, with thieves infiltrating the location through a nearby coffee shop. According to Seattle's King 5 News, thieves broke into Seattle Coffee Gear, went into the bathroom, and cut a hole in the wall to get to the ‌Apple Store‌ backroom.

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The burglars were able to bypass the ‌Apple Store‌'s security system by using the adjacent coffee shop, stealing a total of 436 iPhones that were worth around $500,000.

According to Seattle Coffee Gear manager Eric Marks, the coffee shop is not noticeably adjacent to the ‌Apple Store‌ because of the way that the store is laid out. "I would have never suspected we were adjacent to the ‌Apple Store‌, how it wraps around I mean," Marks told King 5 News. "So, someone really had to think it out and have access to the mall layout."


Police were able to obtain surveillance footage of the theft, but as it is part of an active investigation, it has not yet been released. Nothing was stolen from the coffee shop, but it will cost $1,500 to replace locks and repair the bathroom wall.

No employees were at the ‌Apple Store‌ when the theft happened as the Alderwood Mall had closed for the night. An Alderwood spokesperson said they were working with the police to solve the incident, but Apple has not yet commented.

Top Rated Comments

TheYayAreaLiving ?️ Avatar
9 weeks ago
I hate the fact they left the ? Toilet Seat wide open. No consideration! They could have closed it. ??



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Score: 90 Votes (Like | Disagree)
JosephAW Avatar
9 weeks ago
Yet no one from Apple has tunneled through the wall to steal coffee. Have you seen the price of coffee these days?:p
Score: 64 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Realityck Avatar
9 weeks ago

Unfortunately Apple can't track where these phones are because that would be violating their own terms of service like their AirTags, Apple has explicitly stated that you can't use these devices to track someone.o_O
How can there be terms of service if they were not sold yet?
Score: 51 Votes (Like | Disagree)
NY Guitarist Avatar
9 weeks ago
Can Apple just lock these phones so they can't be used?
Score: 48 Votes (Like | Disagree)
valkraider Avatar
9 weeks ago

According to Seattle Coffee Gear manager Eric Marks, the coffee shop is not noticeably adjacent to the Apple Store because of the way that the store is laid out. "I would have never suspected we were adjacent to the Apple Store, how it wraps around I mean," Marks told King 5 News. "So, someone really had to think it out and have access to the mall layout."
"I would have never suspected we were adjacent to the Apple Store, how it wraps around I mean”

Never?

“So, someone really had to think it out and have access to the mall layout."

I have access to the mall layout.

Score: 48 Votes (Like | Disagree)
bitcloudrzr Avatar
9 weeks ago

I'm pretty sure these iPhones are traceable and they do become useless once stolen (Serial #, IMEI #, etc). But how can someone carry almost 500 iPhones? That's the main question!
We just have to be on the lookout:



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Score: 33 Votes (Like | Disagree)