Successfully recovering 15,000 tools worth 7.8 billion yen from a thief using AirTags

A carpenter in northern Virginia, USA, was the victim of a series of tool thefts in the middle of the night. In response, he attached Apple's lost property tracker AirTags to his tools, and was able to pinpoint where the tool thieves had kept their items.

Stolen Construction Tools Recovery | Howard County
https://www.howardcountymd.gov/police/stolen-construction-tools-recovery

AirTag crucial to giant tool theft ring break-up in DC Metro area
https://appleinsider.com/articles/24/06/01/airtag-crucial-to-recovery-of-5-million-of-stolen-tools-in-metro-dc

Since around January 2024, construction tool thefts have been occurring frequently in the Howard County, Maryland area of the United States. An anonymous carpenter living in Virginia has had his van broken into and thousands of dollars worth of construction tools stolen from inside the vehicle twice. So he planted AirTags on some of his large tools to identify the culprit.

Then, on January 22, 2024, the thieves stole the man's tools again, this time including the tools with AirTags attached. This brings the man's total to 50 construction tools. After realizing that he had been robbed for the third time, the man tracked the AirTag on his iPhone and determined that the stolen tools had been taken to a storage location in Howard County.

The man did not go into the storage facility himself, but instead called the police to search it. After the police obtained search warrants and searched the storage facilities, they identified a total of 12 storage locations for stolen goods. The total number of stolen items seized from each storage location was approximately 15,000, including construction tools worth between $3 million and $5 million (approximately 4.72 billion to 7.86 billion yen). The stolen items are believed to have been taken from parts of northern Virginia and Pennsylvania.

#HoCoPolice have recovered approximately 15,000 stolen construction tools totaling $3-$5 million in what is believed to be one of the largest and most expansive theft cases in the region in recent years. More info and to recover stolen tools: https://t.co/ecfD8G2eFP pic.twitter.com/eHv5n8qqzQ

— Howard County Police Department (@HCPDNews) May 23, 2024

Gregory Darr, chief of the Howard County Police Department, which conducted the investigation, said, 'The investigation is extensive and ongoing,' and 'We believe the tools seized were stolen from retail stores, businesses, vehicles, homes and construction sites.' Darr acknowledged that no thieves had been arrested at the time of writing, but explained that they were investigating several suspects and that charges would be filed soon.

The carpenter who used the AirTags was able to recover six of his stolen tools, and police were able to identify about 80 victims of the thefts.