A Foxconn employee has been arrested for iPhone 6 shell leaks

Mobile leaks are happening all time, especially with popular handsets like the iPhone 6. Well it seems that leaking information does come with a price, because an employee of Apple’s manufacturing partner Foxconn has been arrested by Chinese police over allegations that he stole and sold iPhone 6 shells in the weeks leading up to the device’s release.

According to the Taihang Daily:

Chinese police in recent days said that on Sept. 4, they detained an employee of Foxconn, a major Apple contractor, for stealing shells of the new phone from a factory in northern Shanxi province… The factory is in a development zone in the city of Jincheng. A staffer who picked up the phone at the public security bureau in in the zone confirmed that a suspect had been detained and that it was working with Foxconn. She added that the incident is still under investigation.

The reports indicate that the suspect sold six iPhone 6 shells for 6,000 yuan (£599) after seeing an advert promising money in exchange for iPhone 6 parts. Upon ringing the number he was apparently told that he would be paid 1,000 yuan (£99) for each case he could provide.

Apple hasn’t commented on the situation, but Foxconn, who reported the employee to authorities after investigating leaks, told the Wall Street Journal that it “expects its employees to follow its internal code of conduct.”

Want to read more? Here’s our coverage of the recent Apple announcements, including everything you need to know about Apple’s ‘phablet’, the iPhone 6 Plus, and smartwatches buying guide, or if you’re sick of Apple completely, here’s our rundown of our 14 favourite dating apps, from Tinder to eHarmony.

Tom Pritchard