Overview

• The Met says the network exported as many as 40,000 stolen phones to China in the past year, accounting for roughly 40% of handsets stolen in London.
• Two suspected ringleaders in their 30s, nicknamed “Heron” and “Seagull,” were arrested and remanded after phones were found in their car and about 2,000 more at linked properties.
• A two-week enforcement push led to 46 arrests and 49 search warrants, including 11 arrests tied to plots targeting deliveries of the new iPhone 17.
• Operation Echosteep began after officers found a shipment of about 1,000 iPhones near Heathrow misdeclared as batteries and wrapped in tinfoil to foil tracking, with further shipments later intercepted.
• Police say thieves are paid up to £300 per iPhone and devices can sell for up to $5,000 overseas, as city leaders and investigators press Apple and other manufacturers to block reuse of stolen phones.