Police hunt Apple Store motorbike gang

The Metropolitan Police are appealing for witnesses after a motorbike gang raided the Apple Store in Covent Garden and made off with hardware.

Detectives said they were alerted to a break-in shortly after 1am this morning after thieves broke a windows and entered the premises on mopeds, scooters or motorbikes before making off with electrical goods.

“It is believed there were around seven moped riders/motorcyclists involved, most if not all with a pillion passenger. All persons were in full-face crash helmets,” the police said in a statement. “They stole iPads and other similar devices.”

Woke up to hear a load of motor bikes zoom in and then a smash and grab. Really annoying as I was fast asleep

According to the police, two men, aged 16 and 21, have been taken into custody after a chase in London led them to a block of flats, where officers recovered hardware believed to have been stolen in the raid.

“Although two men are in custody on suspicion of burglary, the inquiry continues and other persons are sought,” said detective sergeant Nathan Tozer of Westminster CID. “It is essential that anyone who saw the smash-and-grab, or the suspects making off, contact us as soon as possible.”

One person who did see the incident was a blogger running a camp-out in front of the store in anticipation of the iPhone 4S launch later this week.

“I woke up to hear a load of motorbikes zoom in and then a smash and grab,” said Rob Shoesmith on his blog. “Really annoying as I was having an early sleep and was fast asleep. Looks like a lot of Mac computers have been stolen. Police are everywhere now.”