RSS
 

Posts Tagged ‘Thieves’

Thieves steal more than $50,000 in equipment from camera store in less than a minute

24 Dec

This past week, Hunt’s Photo and Video, a small camera store located in Manchester, New Hampshire, had thousands of dollars worth of camera gear stolen from its stands and cases overnight.

Detailed in a video produced by NBC10 Boston, CCTV footage shows four thieves breaking through the front of the store with the help of an axe. Once the entrance is cleared, the thieves run inside with four containers and smash the display cases to access the gear. The thieves subsequently fill each container with thousands of dollars in camera equipment and slide them across the floor as they make their way towards the exit.

In less than a minute, the smash and grab netted the thieves more than $ 50,000 in equipment, according to Mike Mitchell, VP of Hunt’s Photo and Video. The high quality CCTV footage captured a partial identification on one of the thieves when their mask was lifted, but hasn’t led to any definitive identifications as of the publication of this video.

Four months prior to this break-in, Hunt’s experienced a nearly identical break-in wherein the thieves made off with another $ 50,000 in gear. Local authorities are working alongside Hunt’s Photo and Video to identify and capture the suspects and believe the two break-ins are related to each other.

DPReview has contacted Hunt’s for more information on what was stolen and what the serial numbers are. This article will be updated accordingly if Hunt’s responds with the information.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
Comments Off on Thieves steal more than $50,000 in equipment from camera store in less than a minute

Posted in Uncategorized

 

Calgary police catch suspected Camera Store thieves, recover most of the stolen gear

22 Dec
Photo: The Camera Store

Earlier this week, we reported on a high-profile burglary at Calgary’s well-known camera shop “The Camera Store”—best known for its popular YouTube channel. Well, thanks to sharp-eyed tipsters and the fast-acting Calgary police, it only took 48 hours from when the store was robbed to catch two suspects and recover most of the stolen gear.

As we reported on Monday, the thieves made away with over $ 27,000 worth of cameras and lenses, including a Hassleblad X1D, three Hasselblad X lenses, and a limited edition Leica M-P Edition Safari. This is the first time The Camera Store has experienced a break-in in over 20 years of business, and owner Julian Ferreira was both upset and determined: offering a $ 3,800 shopping spree “for any information that leads to a conviction.”

Fortunately for Ferreira, he need not have worried too much about the break-in. The same day that the story was spreading like wildfire across the blogosphere, the police were already tracking down the majority of the stolen gear.

Photo: The Camera Store

According to The Calgary Sun and The Camera Store’s own website, once the story went live on local news last weekend, tipsters alerted Calgary police of a Hasselblad X1D and three Hasselblad X lenses that had just been put up for sale on the website Kijiji. Undercover officers responded to the listing, meeting with two men—60-year-old Tan Bui and 36-year-old Justin Ross—at a Calgary mall on Monday afternoon, and taking them both into custody after it was confirmed the camera and lenses ‘for sale’ were the same ones stolen from The Camera Store.

Both men have been charged with possession and trafficking in stolen property, although it is unknown if police believe Bui and Ross are also responsible for the break-in. The $ 10,000 special-edition Leica M-P Edition Safari has not been recovered… at least not yet.

As for that promised shopping spree, The Camera Store writes:

Multiple tips from the public lead Calgary police to the Kijiji listing that helped them recover our equipment and to arrest the two suspects. Once convictions are made, we will contact the person who was first to provide the information to CPS that allowed them to take action quickly, to collect their $ 5000 [CAD] shopping spree reward.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
Comments Off on Calgary police catch suspected Camera Store thieves, recover most of the stolen gear

Posted in Uncategorized

 

Midwest Photo camera store thieves reportedly cut hole in roof to steal gear

23 Mar

Midwest Photo, a retail store in Columbus, Ohio, has been the subject of a reported theft that the company president Moishe Appelbaum describes as ‘Mission Impossible style.’ On Wednesday, March 15th, an unknown thief or multiple thieves broke a hole through the store’s roof and used that hole to gain access to a pipe, which was then used by the thieves to slide down into the shop.

Once inside, the thieves stole a cache of items from Midwest Photo’s storage area, including cases, cameras, and lenses. A surveillance camera was able to capture at least part of this theft, though the store says it has now rolled out additional security crews. Speaking to local news affiliate FOX 28 Columbus, Appelbaum said, ‘[It was a] really professional crew that knew what they were doing.’

Appelbaum goes on to state that this may be the work of a professional burglary ring that is targeting camera shops across the Midwest and possibly the nation. ‘This is the third camera store burglary overnight we’ve seen in the Midwest in the past week-and-a-half,’ he said. ‘This is a crew I believe is making their way across the country.’ The company is encouraging anyone with info to contact Midwest Photo or the Columbus police department.

As DPReview previously reported, California lens company Veydra suffered a similar theft a couple days prior to Midwest Photo’s burglary. In that case, thieves broke into Veydra’s California headquarters on Sunday, March 12, and made off with more than 200 lenses. Whether the two incidents are related is unknown. At this time, it doesn’t appear the stolen items in either case have been recovered.

Via: FOX 28

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
Comments Off on Midwest Photo camera store thieves reportedly cut hole in roof to steal gear

Posted in Uncategorized

 

Thieves needed only ten seconds to swipe photographer Brett Costello’s gear in Rio

05 Aug
News Corp. photographer Brett Costello

Another instance of robbery during the Rio Olympics has been reported, this time involving News Corp photographer Brett Costello and his bag of photography gear. The incident took place at a coffee shop in Ipanema, according to Costello’s statement to The Courier Mail, where a woman distracted him while her accomplice grabbed Costello’s gear bag. The thieves are said to have fled in a vehicle.

Speaking about the theft, Costello said:

I was ordering the coffee and was with my gear and then all of a sudden a woman asked me a question, so I turned briefly, probably for 10-seconds. I felt something was not quite right and my bag with all my gear was gone. She was speaking to me for about 10 seconds, not long at all. I was in shock. No one saw a thing, I couldn’t believe it, I was later told there was a getaway car outside. They work in numbers and they’re good at what they do unfortunately. The police weren’t overly surprised, there was a camera in the cafe but I don’t think that’s going to help.

Several robberies and thefts at the Rio Olympics have been reported. On August 1, for example, Australian athletes had some of their items stolen during a building evacuation. Most recently, reports claim a mugger attempted to rob a Russian diplomat at gun point.

Via: The Courier Mail

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
Comments Off on Thieves needed only ten seconds to swipe photographer Brett Costello’s gear in Rio

Posted in Uncategorized