Some customers looking for their iPad mini shipment may have a bit of a longer wait.
This week, the same JFK Airport building that once served as the site of the GoodFellas 1978 Lufthansa heist was again infiltrated, this time by a couple of crooks who stole $1.5 million worth of the Apple tablets.
According to the New York Post, the thieves struck shortly before midnight on Monday, using an airport forklift to load two crates filled with the devices. The heist was cut short, though, when an airport worker's presence forced them to leave three additional pallets behind.
The police are now questioning airport workers about what officials believe to be an inside job. The Post reported that as of Wednesday, the thieves were still on the loose.
The New York Police Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
According to the Post's unidentified sources, the criminals arrived at Building 261 -- where $5 million in cash and almost $900,000 worth of jewelry was stolen on Dec. 11, 1978 -- around 11 p.m. Monday, riding in a white tractor trailer with the name "CEVA" on the side. Avoiding airport security, the pair grabbed about 3,600 of the tiny tablets, which were awaiting shipment to various intercontinental locations. The Post reported that someone, perhaps an airport employee, let the criminals into and out of the area during the caper.
The 7.9-inch tablet was released Nov. 2, with a Wi-Fi-only price tag starting at $329 for the 16GB version, and running up to $420 and $529 for 32GB and 64GB, respectively. Those holding out for an LTE version can expect shipments to begin within the next week, unless the criminals pilfered those, of course.
Apple products are ripe for the taking, apparently. The NYPD reported in late September that this year's thefts of Cupertino's devices rose 40 percent over 2011.
And that doesn't count the nearly 200 iPhone 5's stolen in Japan during the hoopla over the new phone's arrival. More than 190 of the devices were stolen from three different Apple retailers in the Kansai region on Sept. 21. Local police valued the stolen merchandise around 7.5 million yen (about $95,300).
For more, see PCMag's review of the Apple iPad mini and the slideshow above.
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