Overview
- At Inner London Crown Court, the prosecution alleges Zhijia Fan led the operation with Daoyan Shang as his lieutenant deploying suitcase-mounted SMS blasters on the Underground in early 2025.
- The devices allegedly acted as crude base stations that drew in nearby phones before pushing Evri and Royal Mail failed‑delivery texts containing phishing links.
- An off‑duty British Transport Police officer spotted a perforated suitcase in March 2025, triggering an arrest and subsequent seizures of mobile phones, antennae and base stations.
- Fan, 48, and Shang, 20, are on trial for conspiracy to defraud and possessing articles for use in fraud, and both plead not guilty.
- The jury heard that associate Wan Hafiz has pleaded guilty, Gatis Lauks admitted a separate fraud, discussions referenced a potential Paris Metro deployment, and suspect Jinhua Zhang absconded after bail.