Phone smuggling gang uncovered at Heathrow warehouse jailed for 25 years

Three men who smuggled up to 40,000 stolen mobile phones out of the UK to China have been jailed for a combined 25 years. The investigation began when a shipment of iPhones was found at a warehouse near Heathrow Airport.

The men were sentenced at Southwark Crown Court on Friday 25 September. The Metropolitan Police said they ran the UK's largest mobile phone smuggling network. Detectives found the group trafficked stolen phones from the UK to China during 2024 and 2025, and the force believes that is around 40 per cent of all phones stolen in London in that time.

The sentences

Amir Muhammad Khadikhel, 35, of Eastway, Wanstead, was jailed for nine and a half years. Ismat Miakhel, 33, of The Drive, Walthamstow, was jailed for nine years. Mansoor Mohammed, 30, from Wood Green, was jailed for six and a half years. Judge Adam Hiddleston passed the sentences.

All three had already pleaded guilty to offences linked to handling stolen goods. Their guilty pleas were announced by the Met earlier this year. Khadikhel and Miakhel admitted conspiring to receive stolen mobile phones, conspiring to transfer and export stolen phones, and taking part in the activities of an organised crime group. Mohammed admitted conspiring to receive stolen phones and taking part in the group's activities.

How a box at Heathrow started the investigation

The Met said the investigation, called Operation Echosteep, began in December 2024. A box holding around a thousand iPhones, due to be shipped to Hong Kong, was found at a warehouse near Heathrow Airport. Officers found that almost all of the phones had been stolen.

The court heard that the shipment was searched after a phone theft victim tracked their stolen handset to the logistics site near the airport. The phones had been wrapped in tin foil, which can block mobile and wifi signals.

Detectives who usually investigate armed robberies and drug smuggling were brought in. They intercepted more shipments and used forensic evidence from the packages to identify the people behind them.

On 23 September 2025, officers arrested Khadikhel and Miakhel in north-east London on suspicion of handling stolen goods. Police found several hundred phones in their vehicle and about 2,000 more devices at properties linked to them. Mohammed was arrested later, after investigators identified his part in handling and supplying stolen phones.

The court heard that more than 5,000 phones, worth around £5.5 million, were seized during the investigation. Street thieves were paid up to £300 per handset, and some devices later sold for as much as 5,000 US dollars in China. The court also heard that Mohammed had worked in a phone repair shop, where he came into contact with people selling stolen phones.

Phone theft in London

The Met said the case is part of its largest ever operation against mobile phone theft, which traced a supply chain running from street thieves in London to handlers and exporters abroad. Officers have been targeting hotspots across the capital using drones, high-powered e-bikes, live facial recognition and specialist teams.

The force says phone theft across London is down by about a fifth this year, which means around 9,000 fewer victims.

If your phone is stolen, report it to the police to get a crime reference number. Contact your mobile network so it can block the handset using its IMEI number. Lock and track the device as soon as you can with Apple's Find My or Google's Find My Device.

To report a crime, call the police on 101 or report it online. Call 999 in an emergency. You can pass on information anonymously to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.