Police in the UK have made their biggest breakthrough yet in the fight against phone theft, uncovering a massive international network that smuggled 40,000 stolen phones from London to China. The entire operation came crashing down thanks to Apple’s Find My feature, which helped trace one victim’s missing device straight to the source.
The UK’s biggest phone theft crackdown began when one victim tracked their stolen iPhone through Apple’s Find My feature
It all began on Christmas Eve when an iPhone user in London tracked their stolen iPhone to a warehouse near Heathrow Airport. When officers raided the building, they were stunned to find hundreds of other iPhones that were packed and ready to be shipped to Hong Kong. This single clue triggered an ongoing investigation that ultimately exposed one of the largest mobile theft rings in the region's history.
According to the Metropolitan Police, the gang exported around 40,000 stolen phones in just one year, accounting for nearly half of all the mobile thefts in London. During coordinated raids across the capital and Hertfordshire, officers recovered over 2,000 devices and arrested 18 suspects, which included two Afghan nationals and one Indian national. All of them were charged with conspiring to receive and conceal stolen goods.
Police say the group ran their scheme like a global business. Street thieves in London were reportedly paid up to £300 per device, and the same iPhones fetched as much as £4,000 each in China, where they are prized for their ability to bypass local censorship restrictions. The profits were so lucrative that many thieves have abandoned drug dealing in favor of phone theft.
According to BBC’s report:
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 handset – and the force said stolen devices are being sold in China for up to £4,000 each, given they are internet-enabled and more attractive for those trying to bypass censorship.
Over the last four years, phone thefts in London have tripled to more than 80,000 cases annually. The case proves that Apple’s Find My feature can be a powerful weapon when authorities act quickly. The Metropolitan Police says that thefts are already down by 14 percent this year as a result of stronger enforcement.
Mayor Sadiq Khan is also urging smartphone makers like Apple to go all out and design features that will make stolen phones completely worthless to thieves. Apple’s Find My has already shown how a small piece of technology can lead to massive breakthroughs in catching criminals. If you want extra protection other than Find My, here's how to enable Stolen Device Protection on your iPhone. Do you think technology alone can really stop phone theft?
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