Hey Siri, find me the nearest iPhone smuggling ring!
That may or may not have been the prompt when a person tracked his stolen iPhone through the Find My iPhone app to a warehouse of London's Heathrow Airport, ending up uncovering what police have called UK's largest-ever smartphone theft ring, reports Apple Insider.
The United Kingdom's Metropolitan Police, in a recent social media post, has explained how this was the start of a sting operation that would eventually lead to the dismantling of an international smuggling ring.
"It was actually on Christmas Eve and a victim electronically tracked their stolen iPhone to a warehouse near Heathrow Airport," Detective Mark Gavin told investigators, as relayed by BBC.
Thousands of phones stolen. A global black market worth millions.
October 7, 2025
Step inside the Met Police operation that brought down those suspected of being at the top of London's phone theft crime pyramid. pic.twitter.com/zjPg1Va4rySecurity staff at the site found the traced handset inside a box with 894 other devices, nearly all of which were stolen and prepared for shipment to Hong Kong, Gavin said.
This led to a series of police operations and coordinated raids on 28 properties across London and Hertfordshire, resulting in the seizure of more than 2,000 stolen devices and the arrest of 18 individuals.
Police believe the network has stolen as many as 40,000 phones across the UK and shipped them to China over the last year.
The Metropolitan Police further said that the gang focused on stealing Apple products due to their high resale value. They believe that thieves in the UK were being paid up to 300 pounds per handset even while the same device could fetch up to $4,000 in China.
Authorities now believe that criminals in the UK are switching from drug dealing to phone theft as it is a more lucrative business.
"We're hearing that some criminals are stopping dealing drugs and moving on to the phone business because it's more lucrative," Policing Minister Sarah Jones said.
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