Additional Coverage:
- UK police dismantle phone-theft network accused of smuggling 40,000 phones to China (abcnews.go.com)
London Police Bust Major Ring Smuggling Thousands of Stolen Phones to China
LONDON – Authorities in London have dismantled a significant criminal network suspected of illegally shipping nearly 40,000 stolen mobile phones from the United Kingdom to China over the past year. The Metropolitan Police announced the breakthrough on Tuesday, stating the group is believed to be responsible for 40% of all stolen phones in the capital.
Commander Andrew Featherstone, the Met’s lead for tackling phone theft, hailed the operation as the “largest crackdown on mobile phone theft and robbery in the UK” and “the most extraordinary set of operations of this kind that the Met has ever undertaken.”
The extensive investigation, dubbed Operation Echosteep, commenced after an “unusual seizure” of approximately 1,000 iPhones at Heathrow Airport in December. The devices, found in a warehouse, were being prepared for shipment to Hong Kong, prompting police to alert the Met. A police spokesperson confirmed that “almost all of the identifiable phones were stolen,” leading investigators to realize the much larger scope of the issue.
The operation has already led to significant arrests and seizures. On September 23, two men were apprehended in northeast London, with around 2,000 devices discovered at properties linked to them, along with additional phones in their car.
In the past week, the Met made a further 15 arrests. Searches across 28 properties in London and Hertfordshire uncovered more than 30 suspected stolen devices.
Police highlight the lucrative nature of the illegal trade. A detective sergeant, identified in a police video, explained that thieves can earn between $268 to $400 per stolen handset.
High-demand models, such as the iPhone 16 Pro Max, can reportedly fetch between $6,030 and $6,700 when sold overseas. “These groups are targeting Apple devices for their high profitability,” he noted.
The crackdown comes amidst a global surge in mobile phone theft, with London experiencing approximately 80,000 device thefts last year. Police say they are actively responding with targeted enforcement against organized criminal gangs exporting tens of thousands of stolen devices overseas.
The primary method of theft typically involves snatchers approaching victims from behind on electric scooters or e-bikes, quickly grabbing phones, and then placing them into tin foil or “faraday bags” to prevent tracking.
The human cost of these crimes is significant. “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,” a Met spokesperson said.
London Mayor Sadiq Khan lauded the police effort, calling it a “coordinated campaign to tackle mobile phone crime – the largest operation of its kind in UK history.” Khan also praised the force for “boosting visible neighbourhood policing across London,” noting that “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.”