Armed robbers raid Brazilian Samsung factory for 40,000 devices

At a Samsung factory in Brazil armed robbers hijacked a night shift bus, subdued workers, and made off with 40,000 devices, including smartphones, tablets, and notebook computers. Police estimate the value of the goods at $36 million, though Samsung says that's too high. Other estimates place the value at $6.3 million. Roughly 20 gang members were involved in the incident, which São Paulo authorities are currently investigating. Luckily nobody was hurt in the robbery.

So how did it go down? First the armed bandits took eight employees hostage as they approached the factory in the night shift bus. They took ID cards from two, disarmed the factory guards, and isolated the rest of the Samsung employees. It took about three hours to get the goods out of the factory.

It's an awfully theatrical scene, and likely a drop in the bucket as far as losses to Samsung are concerned (especially once insurance comes into play).

Source: The Guardian, Reuters

132 Comments

Humans.
That's why aliens won't talk to us!
BTW twitter gets an update
Yep. Still doesn't fix that the app's time is not sync with my device time and I can't uninstall the app!
It's a pretty massive update.
Wonder when Facebook beta be updated?
I'm sure there's an update for it in Microsoft part of System app pusher.
Space bucks lol
What happens when your culture doesn't have a Bruce Willis
PAYDAY 2 baby!!! Just like a game or a movie but from the look of things, this is an inside job.
Yes inside job! GOP will blame Obama for it!
Brazilians
As if there were just theft in Brazil.
Brazilians...
Fast and the Furious?
Sounds like payday 2 for me
We're SONEs.
Sounds like a bollywood movie...
Lol
At least they didn't dance and sing....
How are you sure they didn't O_o?
Im pretty sure they are doing it right now...
nah they must be sighing away to glory while waiting outside the samsung service centre with samsungs notoriously defective units(read batttery :P )
People.
Ok this article im struggling to pick out anything to do with windows phone.
Oh noes...did they get some ativ s's??? :O
Well the notebooks were probably running Windows 8.1. So obviously this story is about increased Windows 8 adoption.
LOL
They probably left all of the Windows Phones.
Lmao
Error 404: No relation to Windowsphone detected.
Lol
Error: unawareness about this being also a mobile technology site is too damn high.
No screw that, people are right to point out this story has nothing to do with why we visit the site. I stopped going to places like Toms hardware and Engadget because I found it annoying that they would post any story slightly involving technology. Generally WPCentral is much better about this but if I start seeing articles like "Girl trips while texting!" I'm leaving.
You weren't there when the restructuring and the new way how things work here on mobile nations was announced...? Were you? I guess not!
And there is a reason wy we have the concept of article headlines....you should just move on if the news doesn't concern you. Journalist will do there work whatsoever. For people who take interest.
You're aware of Samsung's range of Windows Phones and Windows devices, right?
Umm is that sarcasm? I am not sure about it :D?
40,000 devices, 2 of which where ativ s's
Which makes it windows phone news worthy!!
which makes it satire because i made it up.
No shit Posted via WPCentral App.
No i just went to the bathroom already
6.3 million makes it about $157.5 per device and 36 million makes it $900 per device. Hmmm they both seem off...
Nope...900 per device seems pretty real, trust me.
Ok
They stole some ativ's lol
Haha android, I mean I'm so sorry.....
Uh...Ok.But what does this have to do with Microsoft or Windows Phone except of course if some Ativ s' were stolen? :p
PCs were stolen too. I would assume they were running Windows 8.1.
Well, Samsung does make a few Windows Phone devices. Posted via Surface
Good news.. ..
Lol some people get all huffy because it makes no mention of Windows or Windows Phone. I agree good story and hopefully they catch these guys...
Suddenly I thought of the Fast and Furious movie. Hehehe! Ok well that sux for them. Posted via Windows Phone Central App
I did too...
YES, DIE ANDROID LOL
LOL
THIS!
Who would want to steal that anyways
What would they do with lagdroids?
Brazilians love lagdroids. Micrososoft does a poor job around here, such a shame.
Maybe they are doing society a favor and instead of making a profit off of these stolen goods they will take them to the nearest recycling center to be destroyed.
Heh, wonder how lagdroid centrals coping
Team work
Interesting motivation speech must've occurred prior to the heist.
At least those unwanted ativ have a new home.
LOL... What I want to know is why anyone would ever want to steal anything made by Samsung to begin with.
HAHAHA from 36 million estimated, Samsung goes like NAH, NOT that EXPENSIVE ROFL LOLOLOL
Heck Samsung will probably make a net profit after insurance and tax write off.
you dont get a tax write off if the insurance covers the loss.
Goes to show how much they are actually worth lol.
Yep LOL
6.3 is $157 per device.
Shamesung got fuced up. Lol. O.o
Gr8.shud have destroyed all da useless stuff Samsung makes specially there worst galaxy series phones
Maybe they can use some of that money from the stolen goods to get you some spelling lessons.
Omg so helpful . Is this possible ?
We must invest in our future
Maybe Microsoft should relax security at their factories. This seems like a great way to get more devices out in the wild to increase market share :-). Glad no one was hurt.
Great job
BTW is this article on wpcentral related to WP??
As Fade_z put it 2 of those 40000 devices were ativ s windows phone!
hahaha touché acbuono5
It's related to WP and Windows since Samsung makes the Ativ S and a bunch Samsung PCs were stolen which also run Windows 8.
Windows Phone Will Be Able To Run Android Apps [Rumor]
Wow did they stolen any windows phones....
Get ready for google thumping their chests announcing a surge in activations for the month of July and August.
Pretty sure all of those devices will be IMEI blocked and restricted from the store/activation so they won't be doing squat.
I wondered about this too. Surely they could disable them?
Lots of hacker tools out there for the IMEI. Not to mention one huge market in China and other countries that have no penality for this kiind of theft.
Samsung are not having a good week, first, reduction in profits, now reduction in erm... phones to sell. What's next?
Maybe getting aquired by microsoft
hahaha
Die Hard 6?
If we had Bruce Willis those cheap plastic Samsung phones won't be bullet or bomb proof
LMAO!!!
Now start e-bay searching... I have a hinch about some amazing deals on Samsung products in not so distant future... :)
Braziiiiilllllllll !!!!!!!!!
Goooooooooolllll!!!!!
That's a shame. I'm glad no innocent was hurt but it pisses me off that only criminals can have weapons in Brazil, such as assault rifles and submachine guns. Those security guards had like .38 cal 6 shooters to protect the company, and probably a poor combat training.
It's not like criminals register themselves at the goverment's office to get those guns anyway
Oh my god.
GTA 5 MISSION.....
THE UNION DEPOSITORY HAHAHAHAHA
The gang loves sam shit
Bet they wish they added that 'kill switch' by now eh?
Sounds like a movie scene.... Lol....
Just to let you guys know the size of the robber, they used 7 fully loaded trucks to take the goods.
Wow...they robbed 40000 pieces of sh*t! Amazing! Next time, perhaps assault a toilet production factory. Same result, better quality products.
LMFAO!!!
lol
I'd never rob any Samsung gadget. If that was Nokia/Microsoft I'd be envious as hell right now.
Seems a worthless robbery to me, as those IMEI's can be blocked right?
So? You can buy simcards on the streets
IMEI is specific to the device, not the SIM card, additionally they would need the carriers to blacklist the IMEI. Also, laptops don't have IMEI's, and neither do non 3G/LTE tablets.
Having someone's physical address means nothing if they are out of your reach
Nah mate I wouldn't say it was worthless. I reckon the phones will already be getting melted down for scrap. Pretty clever way of getting shite "Samdungs" off of the street, while making cash. It's a win win situation ;-)
Fantastic news!
All those phones lying about and no one bothered to call the cops. Inside job!
3.6 million between 20 people......
I assume there would be alot of Samsung products on the black market soon
Better hurry up selling them dear robbers, Samdung toys loss 30% profit every 4 months, and that's considering they are all plastic flagships otherwise the devaluation margins go even further
aaaahhh sad for robbers they robbed 40000 pieces of sh*t...!!!!!!!!!!
Yes you're correct in terms of consumer goods, but not in scrap value ;-)
Think about how much effort it would take to scrap a cell phone or laptop. Probably more than it's worth to these guys. This shit will end up on the black market, most probably not in Brasil. Being sold in market stalls etc. Shops that usually get their stuff from 'grey' suppliers anyways.
You have got a good point mate. However, you do realise $15000 worth of precious metal can be extracted from a ton of mobile phones alone? I would say there is plenty of tons in 7 wagon loads full, wouldn't you agree mate? Then you have all the glass and plastic to sell. http://www.inquisitr.com/908167/cell-phone-recycling-facts-and-statistic... Furthermore, only fools would get involved in such a high profile crime by selling "red hot" products. So think about how much effort it would take, to get rid of these items on the Black-market? I mean, this ain't Hollywood mate -- like it's that easy to get so many "hot" products out of the country as they are. Come on, professional criminals aren't stupid. I mean it's not like they won't have low paid workers doing the dirty work of dismantling such products. Therefore, I would say if they are clever they will already be melting sh*t down, which is a lot easier to get out of the country ;-)
Lol I know it wouldn't be easy to transport and offload all that stuff but I think it would be just as difficult to scrap em. Selling and exporting them seems more likely to me, and let's not forget it can be pretty easy to traffic things in south america... if they can do it with people, why not electronics :S
I get your point mate in regards to people, but it's 7 wagon loads of hot stuff and not people. Nevertheless, it will be interesting to see the outcome of the investigation ;-)
Wow 3 hours to do it all and they didnt get caught? Wow
Sponsored by Apple?
This weeks feature, "Raiders of the Lost Patents ". Next weeks feature, "The Re-Attack of the Clones". The final feature of the trilogy is coming in November, and it's going to be a blockbuster, "The Smartphone Wars 3D", featuring McLaren.
They'll be disappointed when the s5 isn't all they imagined.
Good one
World Cup fever!
raging against the massive German 7-1 defeat haha :D

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