Overview
- The Met operation, which ran late Friday into early Saturday, led to 15 arrests over 12 hours in Southbank, Borough Market and Waterloo.
- Six suspects were held for robbery after officers stopped a group on Borough High Street using a social media “follow me” ruse to snatch unlocked phones.
- Plain-clothes teams used pursuit drivers, drones, high-powered e-bikes and live facial recognition to target riders on illegally modified bikes, and the Met says it has seized nearly 3,000 illegal e-bikes and e-scooters since January 2025.
- The force reports a near 40% weekly drop in e-bike-enabled crime in the area and year-on-year falls including 13,000 fewer phone thefts and a 21% cut in theft from the person.
- Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley set a 1 June deadline for tech firms to curb phone resets and resale of stolen devices, warning he will seek new laws if progress falls short.