Thieves steal 10,000 Motorola phones

Police are still investigating the theft of around £1m worth of mobile phones stolen last Friday from Motorola's Bathgate factory, which closes later this week.

Offices have so far arrested two men, aged 27 and 41, in connection with the incident but are still investigating and say they are hopeful of making more arrests.

The pair have since appeared at Linlithgow Sheriffs' Court in West Lothian, local to the Bathgate plant, in connection with the incident. Both have been released on bail.

Detective Sergeant Douglas Stephens told vnunet.com: "Around 10,000 new blue Motorola T180 handsets worth around £100 each were taken in the raid, which took place around 3p.m. on Friday afternoon. We have made two arrests but enquiries are still ongoing and we are hopeful of making further arrests. We believe the theft could not have been carried out without inside help."

The thieves are thought to have simply hooked up a trailer containing the handsets to a lorry and driven off the factory grounds, just days before Motorola began laying off the 3100-strong workforce at the plant. Police are quizzing shop floor workers at Motorola.

DS Stephens added that none of the handsets had been recovered and the incident had been the one major burglary among a series of recent petty thefts of handsets from the factory. Members of the public offered a packaged blue T180 Motorola phone with hands-free kit and battery charger under suspicious circumstances, or with any information about the theft, should contact Bathgate CID on 01506 653929.

Last week, Motorola was condemned by unions as 'insulting' its redundant staff by offering them each a free phone and asking them to sign an agreement gagging them for criticising the firm.

Separately, thieves stole 10,000 Nokia phones worth an estimated £3m from a London warehouse over the weekend. A gang of six thieves reportedly kidnapped and poured petrol over two security men, threatening to set them on fire if they did not unlock the warehouse.

The stolen mobiles were Nokia 8850s and 8210s, worth around £300 each, which were shrink-wrapped and ready for sale. A reward has been offered for any information relating to the theft. Call 01483 571212 for the Surrey Police or Crimestoppers on 0800 555111.