A band of robbers used an Apple Watch to track down a drug runner steal $500K worth of cash.
The group consists of seven people, all of whom are based in Hudson Valley, New York. According to federal prosecutors, they were formed in January 2020.
Apple Watch Used to Steal $500K
Darren Lindsay, the 30-year-old leader of the group, bought an Apple Watch and connected it to his AT&T account in order to pull off the plan, according to The New York Post.
After connecting the Apple Watch to his mobile account, the group stalked a local drug runner they knew was carrying loads of cash.
The group hid the Apple Watch underneath his car's bumper to easily track him down.
The group used the Apple Watch to tail the said drug runner to Connecticut, who then checked in on a hotel.
When the group found the vehicle, one of the members smashed the car's back window using his gun, but there was no cash there.
Two members of the group staked out the vehicle for 24 hours. It wasn't until the following day that the thieves returned and found the drug runner that owned the car.
The group grabbed him and forced him to get in the car. Lindsay's gun reportedly went off twice while they were scuffling, but nobody was shot.
After, the group roughed up the drug runner and swiped his personal belongings, including a hotel key card. In the room, they found the back that contained $500,000 in cash and took it.
From there, the group went back to New York to divide the cash that they stole. They all posed for pictures in front of the stacks of money.
Several members of the group were indicted in July for other crimes that they've committed from 2019 to 2020.
The details of how the group got together in January 2020 were not revealed to the public by federal prosecutors, AppleInsider reported.
Prosecutors stated that all of the information that they've gathered is supported by the data from Linday's Apple Watch.
The prosecutors also gathered data from the phones of the other members.
Lindsay pleaded not guilty to the charges. Prosecutors have written a letter to the judge presiding over the case to keep Lindsay in custody before his trial.
Apple Products Used to Solve Crimes
Apple devices, especially Apple Watches, have been used by law enforcement to help solve crimes or return stolen property.
In 2018, a murder in Australia had solved thanks to Apple Watch data. According to ABC News, the murder happened in 2016, and even though years have passed, Apple Watch still has the data that the law enforcement needed to review what happened to the victim before she died.
Australian law enforcement found out that the victim, 57-year-old Myrna Nilsson, was killed by Caroline Nilsson. Her niece staged a home invasion and committed the murder herself.
The activity and heart rate measurements collected by Apple Watch had helped the prosecutors review the timing of the murder, leading to Caroline Nilsson's arrest.
Apple has also used its own device to track down fake iPhones and confiscate them.
In 2018, Apple filed a lawsuit against a group of thieves that stole $100K worth of Apple items.
Related Article: Apple Anti-Theft Feature Renders Tens of Thousands of Supposedly 'Reusable' iPhones Useless
This article is owned by Tech Times
Written by Sophie Webster
