Skip to main content

iPhone smuggler caught with 102 phones strapped to her body

iPhone smuggler caught with 102 phones strapped to her body

/

She strapped them to her torso and waist

Share this story

Photo: XMNN

An overly ambitious smuggler has been caught by customs officials in China trying to sneak 102 iPhones into the country strapped to her body, reports 9to5Mac.

Dubbed the “female Iron Man” by local press, the woman was caught after officials in Shenzhen noticed bulges all around her body. According to the report from XMNN, customs officers were suspicious that the woman was wearing “more clothing than was appropriate” for the hot weather, and said her torso seemed out of proportion with her slim arms and legs.

When the woman was pulled aside, they found the iPhones (as well as 15 luxury watches) wrapped four layers deep around the woman’s torso and waist. The items were sealed in plastic, reports Apple Insider, and weighed over 44 pounds in total.

Photo: XMNN

Although Apple has been selling its products in mainland China for years now, smuggling continues to be a problem, and something the government has been cracking down on. It’s a lucrative activity, as the phones cost up to 30 percent more in China due to taxes and levies.

Shenzhen officials said they usually find smugglers with less than a dozen or so iPhones, but sometimes as many as 80. One man was previously arrested for trying to smuggle a total of 94 iPhones into China in 2015, strapping rings of them around his torso and crotch with plastic bags and masking tape. Maybe next time smugglers will have more luck during winter in a puffy jacket.