Overview
- The men entered guilty pleas Wednesday at Southwark Crown Court, admitting conspiracy to handle stolen goods and involvement in an organised crime group.
- Detectives say the network moved up to 40,000 stolen phones from the UK to China in 2024–25, about 40% of phones stolen in London in that period.
- The probe, launched after a December 2024 find of about 1,000 iPhones at a Heathrow-area warehouse, led to September 23, 2025 arrests and large seizures from a car and linked properties.
- Operation Echosteep has made 14 arrests, recovered more than 10,000 iPhones, and seized over £250,000 in cash, with more than 1,000 victims reunited with their phones.
- Sentencing is set for May 12, and the Met has told phone makers to deliver theft-blocking fixes by June 1 or it will ask the government to consider new laws.