One iPhone led police to gang who sent 40,000 snatched phones to China

Police say they have dismantled an international gang suspected of smuggling up to 40,000 stolen mobile phones from the UK to China Last year.

In what the Metropolitan police say is the UK’s biggest ever operation against phone theft, 18 suspects have been arrested and more than 2,000 stolen devices have been discovered.

Police believe the gang may be responsible for exporting up to half of all phones stolen in London, where most mobile phones are taken in the UK.

BBC News was given access to the operation, including details of the suspects, their methods and Dawn raids on 28 properties in London and Hertfordshire.

The investigation was triggered after a victim tracked down a stolen phone last year.

Detective inspector Mark Gavin said: “It was actually on Christmas Eve and a victim electronically tracked their stolen iPhone to a warehouse near Heathrow Airport.” he said.

“Security there was eager to help and they found the phone was in a box among 894 other phones.”

Officers discovered that almost all the phones were stolen and in this case sent to Hong Kong. Further shipments were later seized and officers used forensics on the packages to identify the two men.

As the investigation honed in on the two men, police bodycam footage captured officers, some with Tasers, making a dramatic mid-way interception of a car. Inside, officers found devices wrapped in foil – an attempt by criminals to move the stolen devices undetected.

The men, both Afghan nationals in their 30s, were charged with conspiracy to receive stolen property and conspiracy to conceal or remove criminal property.

When they were stopped, dozens of phones were found in their cars and nearly 2,000 more devices were discovered at properties connected to them. A third man, a 29-year-old Indian national, has since been charged with the same offences.

Det Insp Gavin said: “Finding the original shipment of phones is the starting point of an investigation uncovering an international smuggling ring which we believe may be responsible for exporting up to 40% of all phones stolen in London.”

Last week, officers made 15 arrests on suspicion of theft, handling stolen goods and conspiracy to steal.

All but one of the suspects are women, including a Bulgarian citizen. Approximately 30 devices were found in the early morning hours.

Number Stolen phones in London It has almost tripled in the last four years, from 28,609 in 2020 to 80,588 in 2024. Three quarters of all phones stolen in the UK are now recovered in London.

More than 20 million people visit the capital every year, and tourist hotspots such as the West End and Westminster are prolific for phone snatching and theft.

Latest data from the Office for National Statistics ‘Theft from person’ up 15% in England and Wales In the year ending March 2025, it stands at its highest level since 2003.

A growing demand for second-hand phones both in the UK and abroad is believed to be a big driver behind the rise in theft, with many victims never getting their devices back.

Police Minister Sarah Jones said: “We are hearing that some criminals have stopped taking drugs and are switching to phone work because it is more lucrative.” he said.

“If you steal a phone and it’s worth hundreds of pounds, you can understand why criminals who are one step ahead and looking to capitalize on new crimes are turning to that world.”

Senior officers said the criminal gang specifically targeted Apple products because of their profitability overseas.

The Met police investigation discovered street thieves were being paid up to £300 per phone, and the force said stolen devices were being sold for up to £4,000 each because they were internet-enabled and more attractive to those trying to bypass censorship.

Commander Andrew Featherstone, who is leading the Met’s fight against phone theft, said: “This is the biggest crackdown on mobile phone theft and robbery in the UK in the most extraordinary operations the Met has ever undertaken.

“We have dismantled criminal networks at every level, from street-level thieves to transnational organized crime groups that export tens of thousands of stolen devices each year.”

Phone theft victims have criticized police, including the Met, for not doing enough.

Frequent complaints involve officers failing to assist when victims reported the exact real-time locations of their stolen phones to police by finding Apple’s My iPhone or similar tracking services.

Last year, 29-year-old Natalie Mitchel had her phone stolen in Oxford Street in central London. He told the BBC he now feels on the edge while visiting the capital.

“It’s really nerve-wracking to be here and I’m honestly not sure who’s around me. I’m worried about my bag, I’m worried about my phone,” she said.

He continued: “I think the Met police should be doing a lot more – possibly installing some more CCTV surveillance or just seeing if undercover police officers are available to tackle this problem.

“Because of the number of cases and the number of people who come into contact with them, they do not have the resources and capacity to deal with all these cases.”

For its part, the metropolitan police – taken to tiktok And other social media platforms – which have various videos of officers tackling phone snatchers in recent months – say personal robbery is down 13% in London this year and theft is down 14%. He says up to 80 officers have joined the West End team to focus on crimes such as phone robberies.

The force must lose around 2,000 officers and cut a number of services to cope with a £260m hole in next year’s budget.