A Sun investigation has exposed how organised gangs snatch phones in UK cities before exporting them through global networks, with most devices ultimately ending up in China’s tech hub of Shenzhen.
Organised crime gangs are fuelling a surge in phone thefts across the UK, with stolen handsets ending up thousands of miles away in China, a Sun investigation has revealed. Police figures show more than 230 phones were stolen daily last year, with London accounting for three-quarters of the 70,000 cases nationwide. Criminals, often using e-bikes, snatch devices from pedestrians before quickly transferring them to middlemen.
Inspector Dan Green of City of London Police said: “They know exactly where these phones are going to go once they’ve nicked them.” Many are exported abroad, with around 20 per cent traced to China and 28 per cent to Algeria. Once in Shenzhen, dubbed China’s “Silicon Valley,” the phones are either resold or stripped for parts.
Actress Rosamund Pike and several journalists have also been victims. Authorities are now pressing tech firms to bolster anti-theft features as the Metropolitan Police expand patrols and undercover operations. Only 2 per cent of stolen devices are ever recovered.