California police are investigating the theft of around 300 iPhone Xs worth at least $1,000 each, which were stolen from a UPS truck on its way to deliver the Apple products to the Stonestown Mall in western San Francisco.
The phones, worth more than $300,000 collectively, were stolen at around 11 a.m. on Nov. 1, two days before the official release of the iPhone X, CBS reports. San Francisco Police Department’s Taraval police captain Rick Yick told the site that a witness “observed three unidentified suspects wearing hooded sweatshirts exit a white Dodge van.” He added that the event appeared to have been planned.
Read: How the iPhone X Is Bringing Apple Closer to a Trillion-Dollar Valuation
Police have encouraged those hoping to purchase the new iPhone to go through official channels. “If you’re going to purchase stuff, go to an actual store to purchase it,” SFPD spokeswoman Grace Gatapandan told CBS.
Last Friday, Apple (AAPL) allowed people to start preordering the iPhone X model a week ahead of its Nov. 3 launch and the initial supply sold out in minutes. Quickly, the company was forced to push back shipments to late November and then December.
Apple responded to the news by saying that iPhone X demand was “off the charts,” though the company stopped short of saying whether supply will remain tight through the rest of the year, as several market analysts have suggested.
