12,000 3 handsets stolen

**BrianT** · 12th March 2006

�1.6 million hijack hits 3
Mar 9, 2006

Thieves hijacked a lorry carrying over 12,000 3 handsets on 1 March in Lutterworth, Leicestershire, escaping with over �1.6m worth of phones.

The robbery took place on the A5 between 9 and 9.30am. The lorry is understood to have been carrying a variety of 3 handsets, including LG U880s, Motorola C975s, Nokia 6280s and prepay ZTEs.

The handsets were being transported from 3 to a high street retailer. The operator said a new shipment of phones had already been dispatched, claiming that supply of its handsets was unaffected by the robbery.

3 said the IMEI numbers of the stolen handsets have been barred, rendering them unusable in the UK.

The hijack is currently being investigated by the National Mobile Phone Crime Unit (NMPCU) and police officers from Leicestershire. The police have asked anyone who has information about the hijack, or is aware of high volumes of the affected handsets being sold, to contact them.

�We can confirm that a lorry carrying 3 handsets has been stolen. We are working closely with police, but can�t say anything that will compromise the investigation,� a 3 spokesman said.

Thieves come unglued
The operator�s anti-box-breaking strategy has had the inadvertent effect of rendering many of the handsets useless to thieves as well.

A 3 spokesman told Mobile that the hijacked lorry was carrying a number of 3 prepay ZTE handsets with glued-in Sim cards.

As opposed to normal handsets, which can have their IMEI numbers blocked by the operator on the UK market but be used freely in other countries, the Sim cards in the ZTEs are permanently glued in, rendering the handsets useless in any market, unless they can find an economic way of removing the Sim without destroying the handsets.

Article originates from http://www.mobiletoday.co.uk/artman-...cle_1259.shtml

**Spennyboy** · 12th March 2006

Shite... better not put these in the BST now....

Termy · 12th March 2006

Originally Posted by Spencer_y89

Shite... better not put these in the BST now....

Lol, I got an LG U880 here too.

But I bet the theives were gutted when they found out they were only Three handsets, lol.

Thieves hijacked a lorry carrying over 12,000 3 handsets on 1 March in Lutterworth, Leicestershire, escaping with over �1.6m worth of phones.

Lol, where do they get these figures from, they are only worth �50 on the open market.

**Northernbloke** · 12th March 2006

Ain't even worth �50 each - well the nokias aren't cos they can't be unlocked on 3 yet

**eblaster101** · 12th March 2006

yeh aint worth the steal unless their were n90s and any other bb5 3g handsets

Termy · 13th March 2006

Originally Posted by Northernbloke

Ain't even worth �50 each - well the nokias aren't cos they can't be unlocked on 3 yet

Lol, I never meant �50 EACH.

**stu99** · 13th March 2006

Suppose these'll be showing up on the bay soon

**4me2** · 24th March 2006

Originally Posted by stu99

Suppose these'll be showing up on the bay soon

I doubt it very much , it sounds like an insurance scam to me.

I know a guy who regularly drives for a fleet that tansports mobiles from Gatwick airport to Geneva and back .They travel in convoys of 3 vans for security. They get police escorts for the run out of Gatwick where they are most likely to get hijacked.

They take them to Geneva and back and they (phones) dont even leave the vans. paperwork gets stamped and they bring them back again . Because they have crossed over different boarders and paperwork gets stamped they get a new classification on which TAX can be claimed back.

The vans all have hitech satnav tracker systems fitted and recieve checkup calls per mobile phone every few minutes.

With the tax year coming to an end I strongly suspect somone is cooking their books by pulling an insurance scam to cover any short commings theyve had or just plain greed.

**casio** · 24th March 2006

I thought the same when i saw how many had gone, although not on that scale ive delivered mobiles to different companies and there was no checkups done they didnt even check that they were all there when i left and with 200+ i thought they'd have been a bit more stringent

does appear to be an inside job to me though

cas

**BrianT** · 24th March 2006

Wow, what a suspicious lot. One poster says its a insurance fraud that 3 are trying to pull off, and another that an employee has helped steal them.

**casio** · 24th March 2006

lol how many people do you know who have legit claims for a mobile getting lost or stolen in comparison with how many you know of people fraudelently claiming the same, a few years ago i remember my neighbour was braggin that he'd had 5 different phones through the insurance in as many months, just rang the cop shop for a crime number/ lost number

just seems a little fishy to me thats all

cas

**BrianT** · 25th March 2006

I think there is a difference between a claim for a single phone and one for a shipment of �1.6 million worth.

**casio** · 25th March 2006

depends the way that you look at it i suppose still smells fishy to me

**BrianT** · 25th March 2006

Well I guess one involves you phoning the insurance company and saying you've lost your phone, the other involves a specific police department and a squad of policemen investigating it