UK police dismantle phone-theft network accused of smuggling 40,000 phones to China
LONDON -- Police in London "disrupted a major criminal network" suspected of smuggling almost 40,000 stolen phones from the UK to China in the last 12 months, the Met said on Tuesday.
The police statement said the group was alleged to be responsible for 40% of all stolen phones in London.
"This is the largest crackdown on mobile phone theft and robbery in the UK in the most extraordinary set of operations of this kind that the Met has ever undertaken," said Commander Andrew Featherstone, the Met’s lead for tackling phone theft.
The investigation started in December of 2024, when an "unusual seizure" of about 1,000 iPhones at the Heathrow Airport, the police said. The box was found in the warehouse and was being shipped to Hong Kong. The Met were subsequently alerted.
"Almost all of the identifiable phones were stolen," a police spokesperson said.
They said they realized this was a much bigger issue, and this led to the launch of Operation Echosteep.
On Sept. 23, two men were arrested in northeast London. Around 2,000 devices were found at the properties linked to them, along with "number of phones" in their car, police said. The Met said it made a further 15 arrests in the last week.
"More than 30 suspected devices were also found during searches at 28 properties across London and Hertfordshire," the police statement said.
A Police spokesperson identified in a video as a detective sergeant said that phones are thought to be "extremely lucrative." He explained that thieves earn between 200 to 300 British pounds per handset, or about $268 to $400. Stolen iPhone 16 Pro Max models can sell overseas for £4,500 to £5,000, he added.
"These groups [are] targeting Apple devices for their high profitability," he said.
Cities around the world face a surge in mobile phone theft," the police said in a statement. "Around 80,000 devices were stolen in London last year and we are responding with targeted enforcement -- while going after the organised criminal gangs targeting victims and exporting tens of thousands of stolen devices overseas."
Mostly, the snatchers would approach someone on the road from behind on electric scooters or e-bikes. In an instant, they would snatch the phone and put in a tin foil or a "faraday bag" to avoid tracking, police said.
"There are a lot of victims. There's thousands of victims. People keep their lives on their phones and when those phones are stolen it can be really heartbreaking," the Met said.
Mayor of London Sadiq Khan said on X, "The Met is focused on Londoners' concerns with its coordinated campaign to tackle mobile phone crime -- the largest operation of its kind in UK history."
Khan also lauded the police, saying in a statement that the force is "boosting visible neighbourhood policing across London."
"This crackdown has already led to hundreds of arrests and thousands of handsets seized, contributing to a 13% drop in theft and robbery across London in the first quarter of this year," Khan said.
