Two weeks ago, a shipment of from three to four thousand iPhones- valued at from €2 million to €3 million - was stolen from a warehouse in Belgium. Now, an unnamed black market dealer is selling off iPhones in Russia, raising concerns that these are indeed the snatched smartphones.
According to the Russian website iPhones.ru, the phones - which are called "Europeans" - are being sold in lots of no less than 100 for drastically reduced prices, cash on demand. The iPhone 3GS is not available legitimately in Russia, but it's relatively easy to buy an unlocked "ayfon" from overseas on the black market. The site reports that vendors are suspicious of the deals, because it's generally believed that Interpol is on the case, and has the IMEIs on file.