How one stolen iPhone led to 40,000 others

CHRISTMAS EVE THEFT LED TO UK'S BIGGEST PHONE RING

- BY STEPHEN N.R.

London's Metropolitan Police have dismantled what they describe as the UK's largest-ever mobile phone theft network, arresting 46 suspects in a sweeping operation that exposed a global gang smuggling tens of thousands of stolen phones to China.

According to a BBC investigation, the crackdown code-named Operation Echosteep began in December 2024 after a single iPhone, stolen on Christmas Eve, was electronically tracked to a warehouse near Heathrow Airport.

Security staff helped police recover the device, which was hidden among 900 other stolen phones bound for Hong Kong.