Overview

• Operation Echosteep uncovered shipments and handlers suspected of moving up to 40,000 stolen phones to China in 12 months, about 40% of London’s thefts.
• Two men in their 30s were charged and remanded after police found phones in their car and about 2,000 devices at linked addresses.
• A separate Heathrow stop led to a handling charge for a man carrying 10 suspected stolen phones, with inquiries showing roughly 200 London–Algeria trips in two years.
• The two-week crackdown yielded 46 arrests, 28 property searches and seizures including about £40,000 cash at an Islington phone shop and 11 arrests tied to courier‑van iPhone 17 raids.
• Investigators say the network targeted Apple devices, paying street thieves up to £300 per handset, with resales reaching as high as $5,000 in China.