Met Police bust international phone smuggling gang behind tens of thousands of stolen devices
Officers broke up the major criminal network, which was believed to have smuggled up to 40,000 stolen phones from the UK to China over the past 12 months
An international phone smuggling gang has been busted by the Metropolitan Police after officers seized thousands of stolen devices in the force's largest-ever operation to tackle London's phone theft crisis.
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Officers broke up the major criminal network, which was believed to have smuggled up to 40,000 stolen phones from the UK to China over the past 12 months.
Detectives believe this staggering figure made up 40 per cent of all phones stolen in the capital in the last year.
Commander Andrew Featherstone, the Met’s lead for tackling phone theft, said: "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."
The near year-long investigation began last December, when a box containing around a thousand iPhones being shipped to Hong Kong was found at a warehouse near Heathrow Airport. Officers discovered almost all of the phones had been stolen.
As a result, Operation Echosteep was launched, and specialist detectives – who would ordinarily investigate armed robberies and drug smuggling – were brought in to track down the suspects.
They intercepted further shipments and used forensics found on the packages to identify two men.
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Detectives carried out further enquiries over the following months as more packages were sent out of the country.
Two men, aged in their 30s, were arrested in north-east London on suspicion of handling stolen goods on September 23.
They were subsequently charged and remanded in custody.
When officers searched their car, a number of phones were found and around 2,000 more devices were found at properties linked to the suspects.
Detective Inspector Mark Gavin, the senior investigating officer for Operation Echosteep, said the criminals had 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 in China," he said.
Further enquires also uncovered details of some of the street-level offenders involved in phone thefts and robberies.
Over the past week, a further 15 arrests were made on suspicion of theft, handling stolen goods and conspiracy to steal.
More than 30 suspected devices were also found during searches at 28 properties across London and Hertfordshire.
"Finding the original shipment of phones was the starting point for an investigation which uncovered an international smuggling gang which we believe could have been responsible for exporting up to 40 per cent of all the phones stolen in London," Det Insp Gavin said.
"Behind every one of those phones is a victim. People keep their lives on their phones, and it can be heartbreaking when they’re stolen.
"We heard from people who had lost photos of deceased relatives and others who were violently assaulted during robberies."
Commander Featherstone hailed the operation as being a "significant disruption" to London's stolen phone market.
"We've dismantled criminal networks at every level, from street-level thieves to international organised crime groups exporting tens of thousands of stolen devices each year," he said.
"Londoners deserve to feel safe, and this is a clear sign of the Met's commitment to protecting them and driving down crime."
London has been suffering from a mobile phone theft epidemic, with around 80,000 devices stolen in the city last year.
Met police chiefs say their increased efforts to catch phone thieves has led to significant arrests, recovery of stolen devices, and disruption of international trafficking routes.
Personal robbery has been reduced by 13 per cent and theft is down 14 per cent in London so far this year, Met figures show.
Officers have also made 46 arrests in the past two weeks following a "targeted and precise activity in response to phone theft", the force said.
Commander Featherstone called on phone manufacturers to "do more" to help tackle the issue, adding: "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."
The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said: "I want to thank the Met on responding to Londoners’ concerns leading to their biggest ever coordinated campaign to tackle mobile phone crime.
"This is, without doubt, the largest operation of its kind in UK history, and it was humbling to see first-hand how the Met are going after the leaders of international smuggling gangs as well as the street robbers and snatchers fuelling this industrial scale crime.
"But the police can’t do it alone. Criminals are making millions by repurposing stolen phones and selling them abroad, with many still able to access cloud services.
"It’s simply too easy and too profitable. 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. We need coordinated global action to shut down this trade and build a safer London for everyone."