Police bust gang suspected of stealing 40,000 phones

An international gang suspected of smuggling up to 40,000 stolen phones from the UK to China over the past 12 months has been dismantled by police in London. The criminal network is allegedly responsible for up to 40 percent of all phones stolen in the city during this period, according to Urban police servicewhich described the campaign as “the largest ever operation to tackle phone theft in London.”

BBC News Reports say the investigation was launched last year after a victim tracked a stolen iPhone to a warehouse near Heathrow Airport, which was discovered in a box containing about a thousand iPhones being shipped to Hong Kong. The usual charge has led to “significant arrests” and the recovery of stolen devices, according to a police announcement, with phone theft down 14 per cent in London so far this year.

“This group specifically targeted Apple products because of their profitability overseas,” Inspector Mark Gavin said in a statement. “We discovered that street thieves were being paid up to £300 (about $403) per phone and uncovered evidence of devices being sold for up to $5,000 in China.”