What does China do with stolen phones? London police bust global phone theft network, arrest 46

London’s Metropolitan Police on Monday said they had arrested 46 people in a major operation to dismantle a global network suspected of smuggling nearly 40,000 stolen phones from the UK to China. The bust marks the largest crackdown on mobile phone theft in the nation’s history.

The investigation, code-named Operation Echosteep, began in December 2024 after police discovered a shipment containing around 1,000 iPhones near Heathrow Airport. Most of the devices were confirmed stolen and were reportedly bound for Hong Kong.

Authorities say the criminal enterprise stretched from London’s streets to international smuggling routes, where stolen phones were laundered through export channels before being re-sold or repurposed overseas.

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Largest crackdown on phone theft in the UK

Police made 46 arrests during the probe, including 11 linked to gangs that targeted delivery vehicles carrying the new iPhone 17. London mayor Sadiq Khan hailed the operation, saying it had struck at “the leaders of smuggling gangs as well as the street robbers and snatchers” fuelling the trade.

“This is, without doubt, the largest operation of its kind in UK history,” Khan said.

According to the Metropolitan Police, more than 80,000 mobile phones were reported stolen in London in 2024, many taken from tourist hotspots. Investigators believe a significant share of those devices were funnelled through organised networks and shipped to China, where stolen smartphones are often stripped for parts, reprogrammed, or sold on secondary markets.