$300k in Leica gear stolen

It’s astounding the lengths some people will go to get their hands on a Leica kit, but burglary is not the typical approach! A UK camera store was recently the target of burglars who stole over AU$300,000 in Leica cameras and lenses. The thieves, who broke into Ffordes, which is located in Scotland, roughly 270km north of Edinburgh, specifically targeted Leica equipment. “The police suggest that [the burglars] had watched us for weeks, and they may have come in more than once pretending to be a customer and have a good look around,” manager Alister Bowie said in an interview with PetaPixel. “They may have triggered the alarm about a month ago to time how long it takes someone to come — how long the police took to come.”

Included in the impressive heist were three $20,000 Leica S medium format cameras, twelve $6,000 Leica M (Type 240) cameras, and 60 Leica M lenses. Ffordes has calculated that the total retail value of all the stolen equipment is approximately £166,000 (~US$216,500, AU$306,072). While all the equipment was fully insured, it might take some time until the store has their claim settled.

Ffordes is asking the public for help in spotting serial numbers of any of the stolen gear that they might come across. “What we now want to do is to protect dealers and customers alike,” Bowie says. “Leica has now registered all the serial numbers as stolen.” A full list is below. Bowie asks that if you do come across any of the serial numbers being offered for sale, please get in touch so that law enforcement can get involved.

 

 

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