Three men have been jailed for a combined 25 years for their roles in an organised crime operation believed to have exported around 40,000 stolen mobile phones from the UK to China.
Three men involved in what prosecutors describe as the UK’s largest ever illegal phone smuggling network have been jailed for a combined 25 years.
Amir Khadikhel, 35, Ismat Miakhel, 33, and Mansoor Mohammed, 30, had previously pleaded guilty to conspiring to receive stolen goods, conspiring to transfer stolen goods and participating in the activities of an organised crime group.
At Southwark Crown Court, Khadikhel was sentenced to nine and a half years, Miakhel to nine years, and Mohammed to six and a half years in prison.
Authorities believe the men helped export around 40,000 stolen mobile phones from the UK to China between 2024 and 2025.
It is estimated the devices represented almost half of all phones stolen in London during that period.
The operation was uncovered in January 2025 when a shipment at Heathrow Airport, destined for Hong Kong, was found to contain nine boxes of mobile phones wrapped in tin foil. A total of 865 devices were recovered from that shipment.
Forensic evidence subsequently linked Khadikhel and Miakhel to the foil, leading the Metropolitan Police to carry out a surveillance operation over several months.
The investigation also identified Mohammed, who was observed supplying bags of stolen phones to the other two men.
Most of the devices involved were iPhones, while the total value of phones seized by police during the investigation exceeded £5 million.
Saira Pike, of the Crown Prosecution Service, said the men were at the heart of a sophisticated organised crime operation which profited from victims who had their phones stolen across London.
She said the prosecution demonstrated how authorities were working together to dismantle organised crime networks and bring those responsible to justice.
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