Thanks to “Find My iPhone”: London police succeed in cracking down on cell phone theft

London police say they have dismantled a criminal network that is said to have smuggled up to 40,000 stolen smartphones from Great Britain to China within a year. This gang alone is said to be behind almost every second smartphone theft in London. iPhones were particularly affected. The police were put on the trail by a person whose stolen cell phone was traced to a warehouse near London’s Heathrow Airport using Apple’s “Find My iPhone” function. The police discovered it there along with hundreds of other stolen devices and initiated the now successful investigation.

Some of them are worth thousands of euros

The discovery at the airport was the starting point for an operation that uncovered an international smuggling group that exported up to 40 percent of all smartphones stolen in London, police say. They were primarily targeting Apple products because they could be sold particularly profitably abroad. The police say that the street thieves were paid up to 300 pounds (around 345 euros) per stolen device. There are also indications that the smartphones were sold in China for up to 5,000 US dollars (4,300 euros). The hefty surcharge will be according to BBC achieved primarily because the devices allow Chinese internet censorship to be circumvented.

After months of investigation, according to the Metropolitan Police from London Two suspects were arrested at the end of September and both remain in custody. According to the BBC, around 2,000 smartphones were seized from their car after the dramatic action on the street. The police also speak of 15 other people who are accused of, among other things, theft. Overall, suspects were arrested at all levels of the criminal network. It is the most serious blow to the theft of cell phones and one of the most extraordinary actions in the history of the police department.

Smartphone theft has been a problem on London’s streets for years. Pedestrians often have their cell phones snatched out of their hands by motorcyclists or cyclists passing by. Last year, 80,000 devices were stolen in the British capital alone, writes the BBC, adding that three quarters of all devices were stolen in Great Britain. The police are therefore also demanding more support from manufacturers such as Apple and Samsung. They could do more, especially when it comes to the safety and reusability of the devices. At the same time, she points out how bad the consequences are for those affected who would spend their entire lives on the devices. Their stories are sometimes heartbreaking.