Black market traders snap up new iPads by paying people to queue

Black market gangs hijacked the launch of Apple’s new iPad in London today as hundreds of devices changed hands for inflated profit outside official stores.

People queued through the night outside the computer giant’s two London stores to be the first to get their hands on the third generation of the best-selling tablet.

But the Standard watched a lucrative black market in operation with dozens of people being paid by “agents” to join the queue.

At Westfield shopping centre in Shepherd’s Bush a number of buyers were seen to hand the white bags containing iPads still in their shrink-wrapped boxes to a waiting group of about a dozen eastern European men. Wads of £20 notes were passed in exchange before the group left, each dangling Apple Store bags over their shoulders.

“We’re just buying and selling, we’re not doing anything illegal. We bought them and we sold them,” said one man holding two iPad boxes who had not been in the queue inside.

At Covent Garden, men were seen handing over money, collecting receipts and organising scores of people queuing.

One agent, who gave only his first name, Martin, 33, said: “I hope to get around 70 iPads today. I will be sending them on to India. The guys who are queuing get paid £10 or £20 for a days work. I know them from my community centre, word gets round that this job has to be done.”

The new iPads, widely praised by critics, are expected to be re-sold for double or treble their original price in countries where they have yet to go on sale. Experts say there are lucrative markets in the Far East, in particular China, where wealthy consumers are willing to pay premium prices.

The scam is in clear breach of Apple’s own strict two-device-per-person rule on the new tablets which sell for between £400 and £659. Today Apple refused to comment officially, but privately admitted they knew the practice was taking place.

A security guard at Westfield said: “We’ve seen the groups waiting just outside who are buying iPads from customers. Because they’ve paid for them, there’s nothing we can do about it but they have been asked to leave the premises.”