Three jailed for combined 25 years over phone-smuggling network

Three men have been jailed for a combined 25 years at Southwark Crown Court in London for their roles in a stolen-phone smuggling network. The Metropolitan Police suspect the group exported up to 40,000 stolen handsets from the UK to China in 2024 and 2025. [1] [2]

On 25 September 2026, Judge Adam Hiddleston sentenced Amir Muhammad Khadikhel, 35, to nine years and six months; Ismat Miakhel, 33, to nine years; and Mansoor Mohammed, 30, to six years and six months. [1]

All three had pleaded guilty on 29 April to conspiracy to handle stolen goods and participating in the criminal activities of an organised crime group. Khadikhel and Miakhel also admitted conspiracy to remove stolen goods, involving the export of stolen phones. [2] [3]

How police traced the network

The investigation began after a victim electronically traced a phone stolen shortly before Christmas 2024 to a warehouse near Heathrow Airport and alerted courier company DHL, the BBC reported. Commander Andy Featherstone, the Met’s lead on mobile phone theft, told the broadcaster that the handset was still switched on and ringing inside its parcel. [1]

The discovery of a Hong Kong-bound shipment containing stolen phones triggered Operation Echosteep. Detectives intercepted further shipments and used forensic evidence on the packaging to identify suspects. Khadikhel and Miakhel were arrested in north-east London on 23 September 2025. [2]

Featherstone told the BBC that handlers recruited street thieves through social media, advertising payments for stolen devices. He said the network collected phones from thieves across London, then packaged them for export once enough had accumulated. [1]

The court heard that Roshan Fruit and Nuts, a shop in Leyton, east London, had been used to store stolen phones, the BBC reported. Officers found a trapdoor leading to a basement where boxes labelled as dried goods contained foil-wrapped phones. They also found £44,665 in cash.