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Apple’s iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus are popular gadgets in China. At one point, smuggled iPhone 6s were going for over $2,400.
While the phones are now officially available from Apple, there’s still an active market for stolen phones. Feeding those underground sources are smugglers who come up with creative ways to sneak the devices into the country.
Customs officials, however, are on the lookout for this illegal activity. One man reportedly just got busted for a less-than-clever attempt to sneak iPhones past the authorities. China’s Sina News shared a series of photos showing the smuggler’s improvised try at sneaking 94 iPhones into the country. The result is what looks like body armor fashioned from phones, including an iPhone loincloth of sorts. The phones were wrapped in plastic and taped into place.
The Apple codpiece. China customs police catch Hong Kong man with 94 iPhones strapped to body. http://t.co/gM76FwrWUNpic.twitter.com/en9nl3R1Cf
— Chris Buckley 储百亮 (@ChuBailiang) January 12, 2015
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The smartphones were reportedly seized at Futian Port, a port of entry between Hong Kong and mainland China. Officials noticed the man was walking strangely with a weird posture and joint stiffness, Sina News said. The man’s carry-on baggage passed inspection, but the man himself did not. A metal detector combined with his strange movements tipped the authorities off that something was up.
The smartphones were reportedly discovered to be strapped all the way down his legs and around his torso. There’s no word on the original source of the smuggled phones.
Considering a regular iPhone 6 weighs 4.6 ounces, the man would have been carrying nearly 30 pounds of electronics up against his body. It’s no wonder he had trouble walking.
(Via The Independent)
