Phone-snatching gang steal £20,000 worth of mobiles in one summer
CCTV captured six of the 35 phone thefts. The three male perpetrators have now been sentenced.
Watch: Phone snatchers steal £20,000 worth of devices in one summer
Video footage showing a gang of mobile phone thieves on bikes brazenly targeting victims as they cross roads and walk through parks or shopping areas has been released by police.
Mobile phone thefts have been on the rise in recent months, with government figures published in September revealing a 150% increase in 'snatch thefts' in the last year.
Police say it is being driven by increased demand for second-hand smartphones in the UK and overseas.
The footage, released by the Met Police on Monday, shows a man and two teenage boys responsible for thousands of pounds worth of phones being stolen across south London last summer.
The three have now been sentenced for their involvement in 35 thefts in Bermondsey and Greenwich.
The three men – Kie Joyce, 21, and two 16-year-olds who cannot be named for legal reasons – targeted people in summer last year by “aggressively riding their bikes on pavements and approaching people at high speeds, creating an intimidating environment that made it difficult for victims to react or escape”.
The total value of the phones was £20,000, with the Metropolitan Police able to return 30 to their owners.
One of the boys was sentenced to a nine-month supervision requirement at South London Magistrates’ Court in February for conspiracy to commit theft and handling stolen goods.
Joyce was sentenced to three-and-a-half years’ imprisonment at Inner London Crown Court in September for conspiracy to steal and eight counts of dangerous driving.
The other 16-year-old was sentenced to six months at the Old Bailey on Friday for conspiracy to steal and eight counts of dangerous driving.
The 35 victims were among 78,000 people who had phones or bags snatched from them on British streets in the year up to March 2024, according to data from the Crime Survey for England and Wales.
This was up 153% on the previous year, and the government said in September that it would call tech companies and manufacturers to a summit which would look at “the new innovations that could take on the illegal market”.
It is understood this would build on anti-theft smartphone features some firms have already rolled out.
Responding to the three sentencings on Tuesday, the Met said it will “use data and technology to build intelligence and track stolen items to target offenders”, and that it is working with phone firms “to ‘design out’ the ability for phones to be reused and sold on as we seek to dismantle the criminal market that fuels robbery and theft”.
Where do stolen phones end up?
Many people set up trackers on their phone in the event of it getting lost or stolen. If left on, it is a simple way to find out exactly where your phone has ended up.
However, while it may seem like being able to track your phone will ensure you get it back, the reality can be very different. Police may not be able to act simply on you telling them an address – or the phone may even leave the country very quickly.
According to The Sunday Times, demand for second-hand iPhones in China is thought to be fuelling the massive volume of phones being stolen from people in the street.
The paper found many of the phones are being moved around various addresses in London before being shipped by criminal gangs to China and often heading to the same street: Huafa South Road in Shenzhen which is home to one of the world’s largest second-hand markets. Phones were also found to have ended up in the Philippines and Dubai.
The phones are then unlocked and resold or dismantled, where the parts of it are sold on to markets or recycling plants, the paper claims.
