As Much As $50,000 In Merchandise Stolen In SoCal

Thieves have broken into a store selling UAVs in Westlake Village in Ventura County, CA pilfering as much as $50,000 in equipment ... and the entire incident was captured on the store's video security system.

Television station KCAL reports that the video shows two men throwing a brick through the glass front door of Dronefly and starting to toss aircraft out of the building. Store employee William Sloane told the station that the most expensive equipment that the two got away with were several just-released Inspire 1 aircraft, which have a stabilized 4K camera mounted on board. Sloane told the station's reporter that "they stole 10 to 12 of them, as well as all the other gear that gets installed, so we're looking at around $40,000 to $50,000 worth of equipment."

Sloane told the station that the business' security cameras got images of the two men casing the store before they broke in, and the audio picked up what appears to one of the men shouting the name "Paul" several times as they grab aircraft and toss them out the door.

Authorities said it may be difficult to track the stolen, mass-produced aircraft, but the store does have insurance. Meanwhile, Dronefly is beefing up its security with 24-hour patrols along with its security cameras. The Ventura County Sheriff's Department is investigating.

(Inspire 1 UAV image from DJI website)

FMI: www.vcsd.org