Three men have been jailed for their roles in the UK's largest mobile phone smuggling network, which trafficked up to 40,000 stolen devices, mostly iPhones, out of the UK to China between 2024 and 2025. The defendants—Amir Khadikhel, 35, Ismat Miakhel, 33, and Mansoor Mohammed, 30—pleaded guilty to conspiracy to handle stolen goods and participating in criminal activities of an organized crime group. According to the Metropolitan Police, this network accounted for around 40% of stolen phones in London during that time. Over 5,000 phones worth £5.5 million were seized during the investigation. Detectives found that street thieves were being paid up to £300 per device, with some phones later selling for as much as $5,000 in China. The investigation began in December 2024 when boxes containing 865 smartphones wrapped in tin foil—used to block mobile and Wi-Fi signals—were discovered at a warehouse near Heathrow Airport. The boxes were searched after a phone theft victim contacted DHL, tracking their stolen device to the logistics firm’s Heathrow site. Officers found that nearly all the phones in the boxes had been stolen, leading to the launch of Operation Echosteep. The investigation uncovered a supply chain involving street-level thieves, handlers, and exporters who moved stolen devices out of the UK. Detectives intercepted further shipments and used forensic evidence from the packages to identify those involved. In September 2025, police raided a shop called Roshan Dry Fruits and Nuts in east London and found it to be a storage location linked to Khadikhel and Miakhel. An open trapdoor in the shop led to a basement where officers discovered smartphones wrapped in tin foil, as well as £44,665 in cash. Both Khadikhel and Miakhel were wearing necklaces with Sim extractor devices when arrested. Miakhel’s phone contained messages from December 2024 to May 2025 detailing payments totaling £243,050 to those providing stolen phones. Mohammed, who came to the UK from India on a visa in 2019, was arrested in September 2025 while driving a Toyota Estima. Inside the vehicle, police found six Faraday bags, seven rolls of tin foil, and mobile phones. The court heard that Mohammed worked in the middle tier of the enterprise, collecting phones from thieves and selling them to Khadikhel and Miakhel for profit. Mohammed previously worked in a telephone repair shop, which gave him access to people trying to sell stolen devices. Judge Adam Hiddleston sentenced Khadikhel to nine and a half years, Miakhel to nine years, and Mohammed to six and a half years at Southwark Crown Court. The judge described the crime as highly organized and financially significant. Khadikhel had previously been arrested in March 2022 for handling stolen goods after being found in possession of 14 phones wrapped in kitchen foil. His defense lawyer, Brian Kennedy, noted that Khadikhel fled Afghanistan in 2019 and came to the UK as an asylum seeker, leaving his wife and two children behind. He said Khadikhel accepts he was involved in handling and exporting a significant number of phones but was unaware of the full scale of the operation and struggles with mental health issues. Miakhel’s lawyer, Ronnie Bergenthal, said his client played a significant role but did not have direct contact with the operation's leaders and expressed deep regret. Mohammed’s lawyer, Ben Irwin, stated that his client sourced and sold phones but was not a leader in the enterprise.