Quote:In a daring heist, thieves took anywhere from 3,000 to 4,000 iPhones from a warehouse in Belgium, with a street value of up to 2 million euro, or $3 million US. The robbers may be foiled, however: wireless carrier Mobistar, for whom the phones were intended, say they have a list of all the serial numbers and that they will block the phones from accessing their network.

The thieves climbed a fire ladder to the roof of a warehouse owned by CEVA Logistics, a Netherlands-based logistics company in Willebroek, Belgium. They then cut a hole in the roof of the large building directly above where the iPhones were located. Reports in the De Standaard newspaper suggested the thieves knew about iPhone delivery and storage location details, and that the robbery may have been an inside job.

Mobistar, which has had problems keeping the iPhone 3G and iPhone 3GS in stock, is reportedly in an urgent search for more devices before inventory runs low. With the holiday season coming, the breakin could prove costly to the carrier's business. Mobistar has prepared for a large number of devices coming onto the black market by blocking them from accessing the Mobistar network. However, the strong likelihood is that these phones will be unlocked before they are sold.