Three jailed over trafficking stolen devices as part of UK's 'largest mobile phone smuggling network'
Police say the network handled more than 5,000 stolen phones worth about £5.5 million and exported devices to China and Hong Kong.
- On Friday, Judge Adam Hiddleston sentenced Amir Khadikhel to nine-and-a-half years, Ismat Miakhel to nine years, and Mansoor Mohammed to six-and-a-half years in prison for running the UK's largest mobile phone smuggling network.
- Operation Echosteep revealed a sophisticated supply chain that smuggled up to 40,000 stolen phones to China during 2024 and 2025, with handlers wrapping devices in tin foil to block signals before shipping them from Heathrow Airport.
- The network accounted for around 40% of all devices stolen in London during 2024 and 2025. Prosecutor Karen Robinson KC stated the operation "facilitated the export of thousands of valuable stolen mobile telephones," worth around £5.5 million.
- Judge Hiddleston noted the offending was on an "enormous scale financially" and "highly organised and sophisticated," following the trio's guilty pleas after police linked them to a storage location in Leyton.
- Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley urged the Home Secretary to enforce legislation making stolen devices "unusable bricks," saying arrests alone cannot resolve persistent phone theft across London.
13 Articles
13 Articles
Afghan asylum seeker who masterminded £181MILLION phone smuggling operation jailed
An asylum seeker from Afghanistan who masterminded a phone smuggling operation worth £181million has been jailed.Amir Khadikhel, 35 alongside Ismat Miakhel, 33 and Indian Mansoor Mohammed, 30, admitted receiving tens of thousands of handsets stolen by phone snatchers across Britain. More than 5,000 phones worth £5.5million were seized following an investigation into the defendants, a sentencing hearing for the trio at Southwark Crown Court heard…
THREE men have been sentenced to prison terms for running Britain's biggest mobile phone smuggling ring.
The Independent
The Independent (US)Members of ‘UK’s largest mobile phone smuggling’ network jailed
Prosecutors said the men were part of a ‘sophisticated and organised criminal network’
Sky News UK
Great Yorkshire RadioThree jailed over trafficking stolen devices as part of UK's 'largest mobile phone smuggling network'
At a sentencing hearing on Friday, Judge Adam Hiddleston said the trio's offending was on an "enormous scale financially", and the criminality was "highly organised and sophisticated".
Coverage Details
Bias Distribution
- 43% of the sources lean Left, 43% of the sources are Center
Factuality
To view factuality data please Upgrade to Premium
