iPhonefreak width="190"

Following up our previous post about the $3 million iPhone heist a few weeks ago, it appears we know where the booty ended up: The Russian black market. The iPhones, known as “Europeans”, are being offered in 100 unit batches at huge discounts.

According to the Russian site iPhones.ru (via Google Translate):

Today, several vendors with a forum reported that they call the unknown people and offer at knockdown prices to buy officially unlocked ‘Europeans’. The minimum party is from 100 units in one-time payment without there installments or implementations.  The owner of a shop at Gorbushka, speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed that the windows of the market has already started to appear Belgian phones.

The iPhone hasn’t yet been released in Russia, which has led to a decent market for unlocked iPhones. Surprisingly, Russian vendors aren’t chomping at the bit for the stolen iPhones–they’re worried that Interpol will force carriers to block the phones via their International Mobile Equipment Identifier (IMEI) numbers.

[Source: Cult of Mac]