Met Police Achieves Four-Year Low in London Phone Thefts After Major Crackdown

The Metropolitan Police has completed its largest-ever crackdown on phone theft, making more than 700 arrests during September alone and seizing hundreds of suspected stolen handsets across London. Officers executed more than 50 warrants, including at second-hand phone shops suspected of handling stolen devices, and also recovered more than 110 illegal e-bikes, weapons, drugs and tens of thousands of pounds in cash. Teams visited 220 second-hand phone shops across the capital to gather intelligence and build relationships with legitimate businesses.

New figures show phone theft and robbery offences in London have fallen to their lowest August level since 2022, with 3,963 offences recorded this August compared with 3,311 in August 2022. Looking at the broader picture, offences fell from 81,439 in 2024 to 71,867 in 2025, and the downward trend has continued: between January and August this year there were 39,793 offences, down from 49,136 in the same period last year — 9,000 fewer victims. Westminster saw offences fall by almost 50%.

Commander Andy Featherstone, the Met's lead for tackling phone theft, said the operation targeted every stage of the criminal chain — street thieves, handlers and exporters. The Met and Apple continue to share intelligence to track stolen phones within the UK and abroad. In a separate development, three men were jailed for a combined 25 years after being found responsible for trafficking up to 40,000 stolen phones from the UK to China. Mayor Sadiq Khan noted that 16,000 fewer phones were stolen in the past year and highlighted London's stolen phone trade as worth an estimated £50 million a year.