Overview

• Operation Echosteep began after officers found a shipment of about 1,000 iPhones bound for Hong Kong at a Heathrow-area warehouse in December 2024, most of which were identified as stolen.
• Detectives say the network exported up to 40% of London’s stolen phones over the past year, targeting Apple devices with thieves paid up to £300 per handset and resale prices reaching about $5,000 in China.
• Two men in their 30s were charged and remanded after police found stolen phones in their car and about 2,000 more devices at linked properties, with further suspects charged or bailed as inquiries continue.
• A two-week crackdown produced 46 arrests, including 11 linked to robberies of courier vans delivering the new iPhone 17, searches at 28 addresses across London and Hertfordshire, and the seizure of thousands of devices.
• Officers also stopped a traveler at Heathrow carrying 10 suspected stolen phones and luxury items after more than 200 London–Algeria flights, while about £40,000 in cash was recovered at a north London phone shop.