Group Of 20 Thieves Hit Samsung Factory, Grab Millions Worth Of Electronics

Like one of those heist movies starring a well-dressed, smirking George Clooney and his BFF Brad Pitt, a group of about 20 thieves overpowered workers at a Samsung factory in Brazil and managed to make off with about 40,000 phones, tablets, computers and other electronics.

Police say seven armed men hijacked a chartered bus taking eight Samsung workers to the facility, and took the driver and one employee hostage, reports the Wall Street Journal, leaving the rest to sit by the road.

The suspects rode the bus to the plant, disarmed security guards and then let their friends in. And by friends, naturally that means seven trucks that were then loaded with more than 40,000 gadgets, cops said.

The entire Ocean’s 20 heist took three to four hours, with estimated losses for Samsung totaling about $6.4 million. That’s bad, but not as bad as a number police had floated earlier — $36 million, as the Associated Press reported at first.

Insurance will likely cover most of Samsung’s direct costs, of course, but it’s still not a good sign for the factory’s operations, nor for Brazil itself, as the country tries to attract more electronics companies to set up shop there.

A spokesman said Samsung is ready to cooperate with authorities.

“It is regrettable the incident took place. However, it is fortunate that there were no casualties,” he said.

Thieves Raid Samsung Plant in Brazil [Wall Street Journal]

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