40,000 devices stolen by bandits at Samsung factory in Brazil

The latest Samsung loss sounds like something straight out of an action thriller. An estimated 20 armed bandits performed an epic heist from a Samsung factory in Campinas, Brazil. According to police, the men carjacked a factory shuttle carrying eight employees to work. Six of the employees were taken to a different area and released, while other assailants took two of the employees to the factory, where they disarmed security guards and rounded up all of the employees.

Using stolen employee ID cards, the bandits opened up the factory to allow 13 more robbers to enter with getaway trucks. Over the next three hours, they managed to load up over 40,000 Samsung devices including smartphones, tablets and laptops. Police valued the haul at $36 million, but Samsung says it was much lower and closer to six or seven million. Still, that’s a serious robbery.

As of now, none of the thieves have been caught. Though police have said that with a break-in of this scale, it’s probable that there was insider help. Fortunately, nobody was hurt in the incident and Samsung is working with authorities to both catch the thieves and prevent future incidents from occurring.