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Police report they have broken up an international criminal network alleged of smuggling approximately 40K stolen mobile phones from the United Kingdom to the Far East in the last year.

Through what the Metropolitan Police calls the UK's largest ever initiative against phone thefts, 18 suspects have been detained and in excess of two thousand stolen devices discovered.

Police think the gang could be responsible for exporting as much as one half of all mobile devices stolen in the capital - where most mobiles are snatched in the UK.

The Investigation Initiated by An Individual Device

The investigation was initiated after a victim tracked a pilfered device last year.

The incident occurred on December 24th and a victim electronically tracked their stolen iPhone to a warehouse in the vicinity of the international hub, a detective stated. The guards there was eager to cooperate and they found the phone was in a box, together with 894 other devices.

Officers determined the vast majority of the handsets had been pilfered and in this situation were being transported to Hong Kong. Subsequent deliveries were then stopped and police used scientific analysis on the parcels to pinpoint two suspects.

High-Stakes Detentions

Once authorities targeted the individuals, law enforcement recordings showed police, some with Tasers drawn, conducting a intense on-street stop of a vehicle. Within, authorities discovered phones covered in metallic wrap - a method by criminals to move snatched handsets without detection.

The individuals, both individuals from Afghanistan in their thirties, were indicted with working together to accept snatched property and conspiring to conceal or remove criminal property.

When they were stopped, multiple handsets were found in their automobile, and about another two thousand handsets were found at addresses associated with them. One more suspect, a twenty-nine-year-old citizen of India, has subsequently been charged with the identical crimes.

Growing Handset Robbery Epidemic

The figure of mobile devices snatched in the capital has nearly increased threefold in the last four years, from twenty-eight thousand six hundred nine in two years ago, to eighty thousand five hundred eighty-eight in the current year. The majority of all the handsets taken in the UK are now snatched in London.

In excess of 20M people travel to the capital annually and famous landmarks such as the theatre district and Westminster are frequent for mobile device robbery and theft.

An increasing desire for second-hand phones, domestically and internationally, is suspected to be a significant factor underlying the surge in robberies - and numerous targets eventually failing to recover their handsets back.

Profitable Illegal Business

Reports indicate that certain offenders are stopping dealing drugs and transitioning to the phone business because it's more profitable, an authority figure commented. When a device is taken and it's valued at several hundred, you can understand why criminals who are one step ahead and want to exploit emerging illegal activities are turning to that sector.

Senior officers said the syndicate particularly focused on Apple products because of their financial gain internationally.

The inquiry discovered street thieves were being paid up to 300 GBP per phone - and authorities indicated pilfered phones are being sold in Mainland China for as much as £4,000 each, because they are internet-enabled and more appealing for those seeking to evade restrictions.

Authorities' Measures

This is the largest crackdown on handset robbery and theft in the United Kingdom in the most extraordinary set of operations the police force has ever conducted, a senior commander announced. We have broken up illegal organizations at all levels from petty criminals to international organised crime groups sending abroad tens of thousands of pilfered phones annually.

Many individuals of phone theft have been critical of law enforcement - such as local law enforcement - for inadequate response.

Regular criticisms include authorities failing to assist when victims inform about the precise current positions of their stolen phone to the law enforcement using tracking services or similar tracking services.

Personal Account

Last year, one victim had her device pilfered on a major shopping street, in central London. She explained she now feels on edge when traveling to the city.

It's very disturbing visiting the area and obviously I'm uncertain who is around me. I'm anxious about my bag, I'm anxious about my device, she explained. I think authorities ought to be undertaking much more - possibly installing further security cameras or seeing if possibilities exist they employ covert operatives just to tackle this issue. I believe because of the figure of incidents and the number of people getting in touch with them, they lack the funding and capability to manage all these cases.

In response, local authorities - which has utilized online networks with various videos of law enforcement addressing phone snatchers in {recent months|the past few months|the last several weeks