Metropolitan Police arrest over 700 people in major London phone theft operation

The Metropolitan Police arrested more than 700 people and seized hundreds of stolen phones across London in what the force called its largest ever crackdown on phone theft. The Daily Mail reported that officers carried out more than 50 warrants across the capital to recover the stolen devices. [1]

During the operation, police officers targeted both suspected thieves and second-hand phone shops believed to be handling stolen property, according to the Daily Mail. In one incident captured on video, officers followed a suspect into a pond and retrieved six phones wrapped in foil, a technique used by thieves to block tracking signals. Detectives also raided a shop in north London suspected of housing stolen devices. [1]

The Metropolitan Police Service is the territorial police force responsible for law enforcement and crime prevention within Greater London. It also handles specialized national tasks including counter-terrorism and the protection of the monarch, royal family, and government officials. [2]