Heavily armed thieves have raided a Samsung factory in Brazil, capturing eight employees before making off with around $36 million worth of mobile phones and computers.
The raid saw the robbers pose as workers after hijacking a company bus just outside the Samsung plant. The men then stormed the factory Рwhich lies in the college town of Campinas, north of Ṣo Paulo Рwith two hostages in tow. The remaining six employees were taken to an unknown location.
In total, local police suspect that 20 robbers participated in the daring raid that lasted more than three hours and saw the men overpower security guards in an attempt to overtake the plant.
The robbers then bundled over 40,000 products, including Samsung smartphones and laptops, in to seven trucks in the early hours of the morning.
“They subdued the guards, took their weapons and their ammunition and told them to continue working as if nothing had happened,” Police Lieutenant Vitor Chaves told Globo television.
Police have stated that the scale of the theft indicates that the men had inside help.
Samsung has said that the $36 mn in losses quoted is an approximate figure and that it is still trying to figure out exactly how much money it has lost.
The South Korean manufacturer also added the following in an official statement: “We are fully co-operating with the ongoing police investigation and we will do our best to prevent this happening again.”
The industrial town of Campinas, which is known as the Silicon Valley of Brazil, has witnessed a recent spike in cargo thefts – from 425 in 2012, to 657 in 2013.
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