LONDON, Oct 7: British police have broken up what they describe as a major international network smuggling tens of thousands of stolen phones from the UK to China. According to the BBC, the Metropolitan Police arrested 18 suspects and seized over 2,000 stolen devices in what it called the country’s largest operation against phone theft.
Investigators believe the group may have exported nearly half of all phones stolen in London, where most phone thefts in the UK occur. The BBC, which was granted exclusive access, reported that the case began when a victim traced a stolen iPhone to a Heathrow warehouse containing nearly 900 other stolen phones.
Detective Inspector Mark Gavin said the Heathrow find led to a wider probe that uncovered a large-scale smuggling ring. Police found that the phones were being shipped to Hong Kong, and later intercepted additional packages, the BBC reported.
Police bust motorbike lifters’ gang in Bardibas, three arrested
Forensic analysis of the shipments helped identify two Afghan nationals, both in their 30s, who were later arrested in a dramatic roadside stop captured on police body cameras. Officers found several devices wrapped in foil inside their car, a method used to avoid detection. A third suspect, a 29-year-old Indian national, was also charged with receiving and concealing stolen goods.
The BBC quoted Gavin as saying the initial warehouse discovery was the “starting point” for uncovering a gang thought to be responsible for smuggling up to 40% of London’s stolen phones. Last week, police arrested 15 more suspects on suspicion of theft and handling stolen goods. Most of them were women, including a Bulgarian national. The BBC reported that the early morning raids uncovered an additional 30 stolen devices.
Phone theft in London has risen sharply, the BBC reported, with cases nearly tripling in four years—from 28,600 in 2020 to more than 80,000 in 2024.
London now accounts for three-quarters of all phone thefts in the UK. Tourist areas like Westminster and the West End remain hotspots. National statistics show “theft from the person” across England and Wales has risen 15% in the year to March 2025, reaching its highest level in more than two decades.
According to the BBC, police and ministers say the growing market for second-hand phones in the UK and abroad is fuelling the crime wave. Policing Minister Sarah Jones said many criminals were shifting from drug dealing to phone theft because it was more profitable.
She told the BBC that a single handset could fetch hundreds of pounds, creating strong incentives for organised crime groups. Senior officers stated that Apple products were the gang’s primary target because they could be sold at much higher prices in China.
The BBC reported that street thieves in London were being paid up to £300 per phone, while in China the same devices could sell for as much as £4,000 due to their ability to bypass internet restrictions. Commander Andrew Featherstone said the operation had dismantled networks “from street-level thieves to international smugglers,” calling it the most extensive crackdown on phone theft in UK history.
Many victims of phone theft have criticised police for being slow to act even when given real-time tracking data from apps like Apple’s Find My iPhone. The BBC noted that public frustration remains high, though police say the latest raids show a renewed commitment to tackling the issue on a large scale.
