iPhone 12
Results of an internal investigation led to the arrest of five Amazon employees alleged to have stolen around $592,000 worth of Apple iPhones. (Photo: Caspar Camille Rubin/Unsplash(BY CC 2.0))

Results of an internal investigation led to the arrest of five Amazon employees alleged to have stolen around $592,000 worth of Apple iPhones.

Amazon officials asked police authorities to arrest five of its employees after an internal investigation showed their involvement in the theft of dozens of Apple iPhones with an estimated worth of $592,000. The arrested employees were based at the logistics center of Amazon in Madrid, Spain. Reports say that Amazon conducted an internal inquiry after the company noticed discrepancies in ordered and delivered weights. Since Amazon's business model is fulfillment-centered, the company lost revenues due to the theft incidents.

The growing demand and price of products made by Apple classifies them as a hot commodity and is subject to illegal trades in the black market. The recent arrest by police authorities of the five Amazon employees suspected of stealing $592,000 worth of iPhones is not new as a similar incident also involving company employees happened in 2019. Last year's theft incident involved four Amazon staffers based at a US fulfillment center. Their alleged cache of stolen Apple Watches and accessories was reportedly valued at around $100,000.

   

In another incident five years ago, a man confessed to stealing around 300 iPhones from the Customs and Border Protection (CBP) warehouse in New Jersey. The report did not mention the estimated worth of the 300 iPhones that the man allegedly stole or how police authorities found out about the heist. In the case of the most recent incident involving five Amazon employees and their alleged horde of $592,000 worth of iPhones, company officials began to suspect something illegal is happening when they found dozens of instances of differing weight issues on some ordered packages.

According to Amazon officials in Madrid, Spain, they managed to pinpoint the culprits of the theft after installing hidden cameras inside the warehouse. After reviewing the footage, they established that five of their employees were stealing iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Pro models, and switching the packages at the last minute. Officials estimated the five Amazon employees' total iPhone haul may be worth around $592,000, or could even be more, adding that they immediately informed police authorities about the crime.

At the moment, it is not clear where the five arrested Amazon employees sent the stolen iPhones, which the police say is valued at around $592,000. Authorities say it is highly likely that the five Amazon employees were only a part of a bigger group, which is why they are not ruling out making more arrests related to the theft incident soon. Reports reveal that at the time of their arrest, the Amazon employees had 10 iPhone 12s in their possession along with several stickers with IMEI numbers which they most probably tore off the tampered packages. The five are now in police custody and are awaiting trial.