Police arrest 18 in Heathrow iPhone theft ring bound for China

A Metropolitan Police investigation that began after a victim tracked a stolen iPhone to a warehouse near Heathrow Airport has led to the disruption of an international ring suspected of smuggling tens of thousands of stolen mobile phones to China, police said on Tuesday. Officers arrested 18 people and recovered more than 2,000 devices in raids across London and Hertfordshire that followed the December 2024 discovery of a box containing about 1,000 mostly stolen iPhones bound for Hong Kong, authorities said.

Detective Inspector Mark Gavin, who led the inquiry, said the case began when a victim used a tracking service to locate a stolen handset at the warehouse. The device was found among hundreds packed for export, a find that investigators said allowed them to trace shipments and identify organisers. "That single phone was the thread that unravelled a massive international racket," Gavin said. Forensic work on intercepted parcels and coordinated raids ultimately led officers to two men arrested in a roadside interception after dozens of phones wrapped in foil were found in their car, and to additional arrests following searches of 28 properties.