London targets the stolen-phone trade as offences fall

Losing a phone can mean losing access to work, money and the people we rely on. London police are tackling the trade behind those thefts, from street snatchers to shops and exporters.

The Metropolitan Police says its September operation led to more than 700 arrests and the seizure of hundreds of suspected stolen phones. Officers carried out over 50 warrants and visited 220 second-hand phone shops to gather intelligence and work with legitimate businesses.

The force recorded 39,793 phone theft and robbery offences between January and August 2026, compared with 49,136 in the same months last year: roughly 19% fewer. Those figures predate September’s operation, so cannot demonstrate its effect.

Speaking separately to LBC, commissioner Mark Rowley described using the Flying Squad against gangs robbing phone shops, alongside work with Apple to make stolen devices harder to resell. Arrests do not establish guilt, and criminals are adapting their tactics.

There are tangible results for victims, too: police report returning several recovered phones to their owners during a Southwark operation.

Sources

• Metropolitan Police — Met seizes hundreds of stolen phones as thefts hit four-year low
• LBC — 700 people arrested and hundreds of stolen mobiles seized in huge police crackdown on London phone thieves