Apple Laptops Stolen In "Sophisticated" NJ Best Buy Heist

Yesterday, twenty Apple laptops were stolen from a Best Buy in South Brunswick, NJ by a crew of very craft thieves: A detective said there was a "High level of sophistication... They never set off any motion sensors. They never touched the floor. They rappelled in and rappelled out."

The robbers gained access to the roof of the building by climbing up a gas pipe. The Star-Ledger reports, "On top of the building, they used a saw to cut through several inches of rubber and insulation, then sliced a 3-foot-wide square in the metal roof, he said. Once inside, the burglars dropped 16 feet to 10-foot-tall racks — avoiding contact with the floor, where motion sensors would have set off an alarm. They snatched the notebooks from the racks, then went back out through the roof."

They also happened to descend into the store in a "spot where the cameras were obscured by advertising banners." Detective James Ryan said, "The tools they had to bring, the alarms they had to circumvent — it certainly required a lot of high-level planning."

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By Jen Chung in News on March 5, 2010 8:14 AM

Comments [rss]

Shinobi Shaw

This seems to sophisticated for petty thieves, perhaps they need them for their own private operations?

asg749d

I did not even know that best buy sold apple products...

Spirit of 76

Not surprising. Intelligent thieves know to go for the good stuff, not the discount pieces of crap. Toshibas and HPs aren't worth risking jail time. The more sophisticated crimes have mostly been for Apple equipment in the last few months, like the ring that stole over 100 computers from Apple Store customers in LA or the guys who cleaned out another Apple Store in NJ in 31 seconds.

Guest

i almost got confused by the title:

"Apple Laptops Stolen In "Sophisticated", Best NJ Heist"

DarkGemini

I've seen this before, however that attempt was unsuccessful and involved a Chinese restaurant's roof, and a bathroom wall.

From what I've heard over the years (yes, years), this crew has hit a number of BBY stores up and down the eastern seaboard. The reason they're so successful is because BBY maintains the same security protocols and systems in all of their stores. Great from a management perspective, horrible from a security perspective. Once they knew the shortcomings of the system at one store, they knew the same about all of their stores.

I'd hate to be the guy heading up corporate security for them right now...

aveB4life

I'm just glad that my hometown made it on gothamist. SB represent!!!!

Stevennnn

Get ready because I bet they're on craigslist or ebay right now.

tien

Inside job!!

Cranky Old Man

Oh, and wouldn't Apple laptops normally be locked away in some case somewhere?

Cranky Old Man

This was a publicity stunt, designed to spark more interest in Apple notebooks.

Guest

former employees...

worked there for 'some' time...

recently fired...

hmmm...

slickshoes

that's awesome. fine work.

newport27

If they sell each for a grand, that's twenty grand in profit. Not too shabby I'd say

Gotham Extremist

Did they get away in a spanking new Aston Martin while siping martinis? Bond would be so proud!

hecks

whatever happened to museums, bank vaults and jewelry stores? Best Buy is a target now? The recession must be worse than I thought. Even "high-level planning" burglars are looking for work. This job sounds like resume filler and wouldn't make for a very exciting heist scene in a movie.

wobbleSmith

sure, why knock off a place that you'll likely never get busted for? better to stick to those high-level, high-security institutions that will do anything to save face, rather than a major corporation that will write it down and never harass the police about it.

hecks

personally, i enjoy the occasional swipe from a big box store...for exactly the reasons u mentioned. i just dont think it would make for a very exciting scene in a movie. geez.

wobbleSmith

let's go steal some flatscreens from walmart.

is there a walmart in union square yet?

hecks

circuit city on union was fun for a boost or two a month. but i guess i wasnt alone cuz its long gone now. i'll bring the grappling hooks and the saw, you bring all the ropes but we need someone to do the video cuz its going up on youtube.

Charles

im excited to see what crime they needed that many macbooks to commit!! all hail the power of the #rack

mocanlagunas

motion sensors on the floor?!? yeah, right!

theevilone

Sounds like an episode of Chuck.

swoop

$20 says they never catch them. Cops hate having to put any effort into anything short of a homicide.

csk

I'll look for one at deep discount on craigslist.

henryhamilton

I admire professionalism. The chosen line of work is irrelevant.

zizzy

Seems like a lot of trouble to go to for 20 laptops.

bitchincamaro

I suppose the booty consisted of Macbook "Air"s?

S.K.

Good for them. Apple products are so overpriced, they're asking to be stolen by a modern-day Robin Hood.

Final Cut Pro alone costs over $900. Ridiculous!

Dirk

So something deserves to be stolen if you can't afford it.

Here's a a tip... if you can't afford it, don't buy it or buy a cheaper alternative. Get a cheap Dell or something.

As for Final Cut being $900, just about all professional-level graphics/video/3D/design software costs an arm and a leg. So Apple is hardly alone there.