Thieves steal Apple products from warehouse in Brazil

Armed thieves have stolen $1.75m-worth of Apple products from a warehouse in Sao Paulo, Brazil after subduing security personnel.

The five raiders - armed with pistols and automatic weapons - stole 12 cases of iPhones, and iPads from a freight facility at the Viracopos airport owned by TAM Cargo, part of Brazilian airline TAM.

The gang made off with the haul in a TAM van after neutralising security cameras and locking eight employees in a room. Thankfully no one was injured in the raid, which took place during the night of October 22.

Sao Paulo police are now examining CCTV footage from the warehouse to try to identify the criminals, and have said they believe the raid may have been carried out the help of insider knowledge.

Security specialist Freightwatch warned recently that electronics thefts appear to be on the rise around the world, with "concentrated efforts by cargo theft gangs targeting specific commodities that are popular during the holiday season, such as consumer electronics, consumer care goods and others".

The company notes that Brazil has recorded several multimillion dollar warehouse losses this year, and recommends that facilities implement several layers of security such as electric fencing, sensors, alarms, cameras and dogs.

Those running warehouses should ensure security guard staffing is at a high enough level and place panic buttons at strategic points around the facility.