Amir Muhammad Khadikhel, Ismat Miakhel and Mansoor Mohammed were jailed for 9½, nine and 6½ years after pleading guilty to organised-crime and stolen-goods offences. Police suspect their network smuggled up to 40,000 phones to China in 2024–25.
The investigation began when a victim tracked a phone stolen shortly before Christmas 2024 to a warehouse near Heathrow and alerted DHL. Police found more than 800 stolen phones in nine boxes, some wrapped in foil and others in bubble wrap, destined for Hong Kong. The discovery prompted Operation Echosteep.
Prosecutors said the three had leading roles in a network linked to more than 5,000 seized phones worth about £5.5m in the UK. The Met says Operation Echosteep has led to 14 arrests, more than 10,000 stolen phones recovered and over £250,000 seized; more than 1,000 devices have been returned to victims.
