Three Members of UK Phone-Smuggling Network Jailed for 25 Years
The Southwark Crown Court in London has sentenced three members of a major network that moved stolen mobile phones from the United Kingdom to China to a total of 25 years in prison. According to London police, the network had transferred tens of thousands of stolen phones from London to Hong Kong between 2024 and 2025.
The British newspaper The Sun reported that the convicted men are 35-year-old Amir Mohammad Khadikhil and 33-year-old Ismat Miahkhel, both from Afghanistan, and 30-year-old Mansoor Mohammad, from India. Their sentences were handed down by the court on Friday, 3 October.
The judge sentenced Khadikhil to nine years and six months in prison, Miahkhel to nine years, and Mohammad to six years and six months. Khadikhil and Miahkhel had pleaded guilty to conspiracy to receive, transfer and export stolen mobile phones, as well as participating in the activities of an organised crime group. Mohammad also admitted receiving stolen phones and taking part in the group’s activities.
According to court information, Mohammad collected the stolen phones from thieves and handed them over to Khadikhil and Miahkhel. The two then transported the phones to Hong Kong, China.
The police investigation began in December 2024 after a woman used an online app to locate her phone in a warehouse near Heathrow Airport. At the site, 865 phones, mostly iPhones, wrapped in aluminium foil were found ready for shipment to Hong Kong. The case was pursued under the name Operation Echostep.
Police arrested Khadikhil and Miahkhel in northeast London on 23 September 2025 and recovered several hundred phones from their vehicle. Around 2,000 more devices were also seized from locations linked to the pair. Mohammad was arrested a few days later.
London police said the network transferred between 40,000 and 62,000 stolen phones from the UK to China in 2024 and 2025, a figure that accounts for around half of all phones stolen in London during that period. During the investigation, more than 5,000 devices worth nearly £5.5 million were seized and around 1,000 victims were able to recover their phones from the police.
According to The Sun, Khadikhil was identified by the court as the key figure in the network, and as many as 50 dealers may have been involved in the criminal operation. The total value of the phones transferred by the network to Hong Kong is estimated at around £181 million. Southwark Crown Court is among the key courts in London handling major criminal and financial cases.
