Apple Store Thief Can't Hold Out for iPhone 5

The Charlotte Observer and WCNC cite a Charlotte-Mecklenburg police report that reads: "The iPhones were stolen from the Genius Room located inside the store. The suspect did have access to the Genius Room."

APPLE IPHONEYS:The iPhone 5 edition

The booty: $16,425 worth of devices, including 22 16GB iPhone 4S models, one 32GB 4S, one 64GB 4S, and one 8GB iPhone 4 model.

The alleged crime was reported to police on Monday.

Not surprisingly, there's a booming business in stolen Apple products these days. The list goes on, but here are a few current examples, and a couple more from last year:

*The New York Post reported Wednesday that an 81-year-old man was shoved onto the tracks at a Brooklyn subway station after chasing a teen who allegedly stole his iPhone.

*Last summer, the FBI reported arrests of three mall cellphone kiosk workers in the Washington, D.C., area for allegedly buying stolen iPhones and other Apple products, and reselling them for a profit.

*About a year ago, a woman was nabbed at Ben-Gurion Airport trying to smuggle 44 iPhones into Israel.

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