The Metropolitan Police have arrested 46 people after disrupting a criminal network suspected of smuggling up to 40,000 stolen phones from the UK to China.
A months-long investigation began last December when a box on its way to Hong Kong was found at a warehouse near Heathrow Airport containing around 1,000 iPhones.
Officers discovered almost all the phones had been stolen, the force said.
It then launched Operation Echosteep, bringing in specialist detectives to track down the suspects for what’s been described as the UK’s biggest ever crackdown on phone theft.
They intercepted further shipments and used forensics to identify two men in their 30s, who were arrested on suspicion of handling stolen goods on 23 September. They have since been charged and remanded in custody.
The discovery of the phones at a warehouse near Heathrow Airport. Pic: Metropolitan Police
A number of phones were found in the men’s car and around 2,000 more devices were found at properties linked to them, the Met Police said.
Detective Inspector Mark Gavin, the senior investigating officer for Operation Echosteep, said: “This group specifically targeted Apple products because of their profitability overseas.
“We discovered street thieves were being paid up to £300 per handset and uncovered evidence of devices being sold for up to $5,000 (£3,700) in China.”
Phones piled on the backseat of the suspects’ car. Pic: Metropolitan Police
Police call on phone manufacturers to do more
Commander Andrew Featherstone, the Met’s lead for tackling phone theft, has described the operation as “the largest crackdown on mobile phone theft and robbery in the UK”.
He continued: “We’ve shown how serious we are about tackling this issue, but we need more help from the industry.
“We’re calling on phone manufacturers such as Apple and Samsung to do more to support us and protect their customers – especially around phone security and re-use.”
A total of 46 people have been arrested during two weeks of what the force has described as “targeted and precise activity”.
These include the arrests of 11 people during an operation targeting gangs robbing courier vans delivering the new iPhone 17 and the arrest of two men in their 30s – on suspicion of money laundering and handling stolen goods – after officers recovered almost £40,000 in cash at a phone shop in north London.
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The moment a duo on a moped tried to snatch a phone from a woman’s hand. Pic: Met Police
Another man was charged with handling stolen goods after being stopped with 10 suspected stolen phones at Heathrow Airport on 20 September.
Further enquiries revealed the man – who also had two iPads, two laptops and two Rolex watches – had travelled between London and Algeria more than 200 times in two years, the force said.
London mayor Sadiq Khan said it is “simply too easy and profitable” for criminals “making millions by repurposing stolen phones and selling them abroad”.
“I will continue to call on the mobile phone industry to go harder and faster in designing out this crime by making stolen devices unusable,” he said. “We need coordinated global action to shut down this trade and build a safer London for everyone.”
