Missing iPhone prototype linked to alleged high-tech crime

Reports that revealed photos and details about an Apple iPhone prototype - possibly the 4G iPhone - on tech blog Gizmodo.com have led to an investigation that aims to discover if there was a crime involved.

A California court issued a search warrant for the house of tech-blog editor Jason Chen because it was "used as the means of committing a felony," and it "tends to show that a felony has been committed or that a particular person has committed a felony," according to the warrant.

News emerged Tuesday that police entered the property Friday to seize Chen's computers in search of photographs of the prototype iPhone and other material.

The search was carried out by the Rapid Enforcement Allied Computer Team, a Santa-Clara based task force that investigates identity theft, computer crime and the like, according to Yahoo News.

It is unkown yet if Gizmodo.com and Chen are being accused of the crime or if the blame will fall on the person who sold the iPhone to the blog site.

Gizmodo.com reportedly purchased a 4G prototype iPhone for $5,000 from a person who found it at a bar in California.

Following that, the tech blog posted reviews of the device on its site, unveiling information that Apple had kept confidential.