London police said they have broken up a criminal gang suspected of smuggling 40,000 stolen mobile phones to China in their largest operation against phone theft to date, resulting in 46 arrests over the last two weeks.

The gang could be behind about 40% of all the phone theft in London, police said, which like other global cities has seen a surge in the number of devices stolen in recent years, driven by a lucrative international market and facilitated by fast getaways on e-bikes.

Police said in a statement on Tuesday (October 7) that the investigation started last year, when a box containing around a thousand iPhones was discovered at a warehouse near London's Heathrow Airport as it was being shipped to Hong Kong.

The group specifically targeted Apple products because of their profitability overseas, police said, discovering they were paid up to 300 pounds ($403.02) per Apple phone, which could be sold for up to $5,000 in China.

"This is the largest crackdown on mobile phone theft and robbery in the UK," police commander Andrew Featherstone said.

"We've dismantled criminal networks at every level, from street-level thieves to international organised crime groups exporting tens of thousands of stolen devices each year."

Of the dozens of arrests, eleven were made when officers targeted gangs robbing courier vans delivering the new iPhone 17, while two men in their 30s were arrested on suspicion of money laundering after 40,000 pounds in cash was found at a phone shop in north London.

London Mayor Sadiq Khan said phone theft was happening on an "industrial scale" and urged phone manufacturers like Apple and Samsung to take more measures to block the use of stolen phones.

DESCRIPCIÓN DE IMÁGENES

1. (MUTE) CCTV OF MOPED DRIVING ON FOOTPATH, DRIVER TRYING TO SNATCH PHONE FROM PERSON WALKING

2. (MUTE) CCTV OF PERSON WALKING USING PHONE, PERSON ON BACK OF MOPED SNATCHING PHONE OUT OF THEIR HAND

3. (MUTE) VARIOUS OF CCTV SHOWING PEOPLE ON E-BIKES, ONE RIDES TOWARDS PEOPLE STANDING AT BUS STOP AND SNATCHES PHONE OUT OF WOMAN'S HAND, SUSPECT RIDES AWAY

4. MONOCHROME HELICOPTER FOOTAGE OF SUSPECT BIKING DOWN ROAD

5. HELICOPTER FOOTAGE TRACKING PERSON ON BIKE

6. (MUTE) DOOR OPENING, PERSON BEING LED OUT IN HANDCUFFS

7. HELICOPTER FOOTAGE OF SUSPECTS WEAVING BIKES THROUGH TRAFFIC

8. (MUTE) SUSPECT ON BIKE WEAVING THROUGH TRAFFIC

LONDON, ENGLAND, UNITED KINGDOM (FILE - MAY 23, 2024) (METROPOLITAN POLICE - No archives / No resales / Must on screen courtesy Metropolitan Police)

9. BODYCAM FOOTAGE OF POLICE HOLDING GUN, ANOTHER HOLDING A TASER POINTING AT SUSPECT WALKING DOWNSTAIRS WITH HANDS UP

10. BODYCAM FOOTAGE OF POLICE HOLDING GUN, ANOTHER HOLDING A TASER POINTING AT SUSPECT WALKING DOWNSTAIRS WITH HANDS UP

LONDON, ENGLAND, UNITED KINGDOM (FILE - MARCH 6, 2024) (METROPOLITAN POLICE - No archives / No resales / Must on screen courtesy Metropolitan Police)

11. (MUTE) CCTV FOOTAGE OF PERSON DRIVING MOPED ON FOOTPATH, SNATCHING PHONE FROM PERSON WALKING

12. BODYCAM FOOTAGE OF POLICE ARRESTING SUSPECT INSIDE A STORE

LONDON, ENGLAND, UNITED KINGDOM (FILE - SEPTEMBER 23, 2025) (METROPOLITAN POLICE - No archives / No resales / Must on screen courtesy Metropolitan Police)

13. VARIOUS BODYCAM FOOTAGE OF POLICE RUNNING TOWARDS CAR, PULLING SUSPECT OUT OF CAR, HANDCUFFING THEM ON THE GROUND

14. PHONES AND OTHER ITEMS IN THE BACK SEAT OF THE CAR

LONDON, ENGLAND, UNITED KINGDOM (FILE) (METROPOLITAN POLICE - No archives / No resales / Must on screen courtesy Metropolitan Police)

15. BOXES DISCOVERED AT WAREHOUSE NEAR HEATHROW CONTAINING IPHONES THAT WERE GOING TO BE SHIPPED TO HONG KONG

16. POLICE SHOWING RECOVERED PHONES IN EVIDENCE BAGS INSIDE A BOX

17. VARIOUS OF SMART PHONES ON DESK IN EVIDENCE BAGS

18. POLICE LAYING OUT SMART PHONES IN EVIDENCE BAGS ON TABLE