Phone thefts in the UK have surged to more than 225 per day, with London at the epicentre of a crime wave driven by e-bike gangs. Data obtained by The Independent shows at least 83,900 phone thefts were recorded in the 12 months to July last year, nearly double the 45,800 five years earlier. In London, thefts more than doubled to 65,600 over the same period.
Police say they face a running battle with organised criminal gangs using powerful e-bikes capable of 70mph to snatch phones worth up to £1,500 from pedestrians. The Metropolitan Police dealt with 64,224 thefts, over three-quarters of the national total, followed by Kent Police (1,722), South Yorkshire Police (1,577) and Lancashire Police (1,467).
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper has vowed a crackdown, calling the situation “totally unacceptable”. At a summit on smartphone theft, she announced extra police powers and called on tech firms like Apple, Google and Samsung to improve device security. “Over the last few years, mobile phone thefts have shot up – often driven by organised crime – leaving our streets feeling less safe. That has to change,” she said.
Victims include city worker Christopher Bramah-Calvert, whose iPhone 13 was snatched outside a gym in High Holborn. He tracked the device to China before receiving a threatening video. Labour MP Chris Webb was also mugged for his phone. In one week, the Met seized 1,000 stolen mobiles and arrested 230 people, targeting what police describe as a “£50m-a-year trade in stolen phones”.
Inspector Dan Green of City of London Police said the rise of illegal e-bikes is making enforcement challenging. “E-bikes are capable of doing 50, 60, 70mph… they are really agile and we can’t get anywhere near some of them,” he said. Thieves often work in organised groups, using central London as a “thoroughfare” to snatch multiple phones daily, targeting newer models like iPhone 15 and 16.
