Latest news with #phoneTheft
BBC News
4 hours ago
- Politics
- BBC News
Apple and Google clash with police and MPs over phone thefts
Senior figures at Apple and Google have clashed with the police over its recommendations for how best to deal with phone theft in the Met's James Conway told the Commons Science, Innovation and Technology Committee - which is considering the question - that two-thirds of thefts in London now relate to mobile up to 70% of knife crime linked to robbery, he told MPs that meant phone theft was "significantly driving parts of our violence problem".The Met wants phone companies to use the unique identifying number - known as an IMEI - that each device has to block any that are reported as Apple and Google - who dominate the market - raised concerns about the idea. "Focusing on IMEI blocking might miss some of the problems," Apple's head of law enforcement requests, Gary Davis, told the committee."We worry that there is a vector for fraud... we are concerned about a world where it would be a person who claims to be the owner who's asking."Stolen devices are blocked from being used in the UK by phone networks by using its IMEI, but this is not the case means a stolen phone can still be used in some other countries if a criminal is able to bypass the device's security. But Mr Davis said he was concerned that phone owners already face "extensive fraud attempts", which he estimated at more than a thousand people trying to access devices each month."They do it for malicious purposes, they do it to maybe blackmail you," he said."I would like to think in an area such as this our expertise built up over time in relation to attack vectors would mean something."The firms pointed out they have implemented several new safety features in the past 12 months to help combat phone theft. Apple has introduced Stolen Device Protection while Android - which is owned by Google - has brought in Theft Detection Lock. IMEI blacklist Police officers said they were looking for action from phone providers to help prevent further Met's chief technology officer Darren Scates said 75% of phones which were stolen are moved abroad, with 28% ending up in either China or Hong Kong."We're asking the cloud providers specifically to prevent a lost or stolen device from connecting to their cloud services," he said."This doesn't even need to involve the police."He said they had been asking for this since October 2023, but had not yet been able to convince the firms to take MPs accused the two tech firms of lacking the will to take action. "You could tomorrow stop phones that are on the IMEI blacklist connecting back to your services if you so wished, both of you, and you won't do it," Lib Dem MP Martin Wrigley said."I'm not saying that we won't do it," Google software engineering manager Simon Wingrove replied, adding the issue needed an industry-wide said the global database of IMEI numbers is built, maintained, populated, read and used by network carriers. "If we want to change that so that it becomes a database that is used by other actors to do other things to devices to block them in other ways, that is an industry-wide discussion that is not in my power as an engineer at Google," he said."I think we need to decide as industry that is a safe and sensible thing to do."He pointed to Android's factory reset protection as an area it was continuing to work on to improve security and make it harder for thieves to reset stolen devices."The most recent changes that we've announced we made in the most recent version of Android," he said. "We're really hopeful that we will see a significant impact - we haven't stopped investing in that." 'You're dragging your feet' But one of the main threads of the day was a clash between MPs and Mr Davis over the market for second-hand parts."I worry if we focus on IMEI blocking only you are going to miss the market for parts," he told the committee, to frustrations from those in attendance."It's clear from the mood of the committee that we don't feel that either Google or Apple have a road plan to effective phone protection which does not involve IMEIs," Labour MP Chi Onwurah is concerned that when devices are stolen, rather than being reused elsewhere they are instead being chopped up into component parts - like screens, processors and batteries - which can then be sold on for repairs."Our best protection is Activation Lock," he said. "I understand you will take the view that it obviously mustn't be working because there are still devices being stolen. But that is the best protection."Activation Lock is a feature which links certain iPhone or iPad components to a person's Apple ID - meaning a person must use their password to allow these parts of their device to be used in feature was well-received when it was announced in September as a way to deal with thieves. But the committee wanted to focus on blocking the IMEI of a stolen phone being used elsewhere."It feels to a lot of people that you're dragging your feet," Conservative MP Kit Malthouse Mr Davis said he felt Activation Lock was "a major step" in disrupting the second-hand market."It could well be that IMEI blocking is a natural next step," he said."However I would want to make sure that as part of all of that the Met police continues to do traditional policing, which means sending requests to us for stolen devices, and Apple responding to those requests."We're not seeing that, and I think it's very important." 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Daily Mail
2 days ago
- Business
- Daily Mail
Hotel empire boss warns London's phone theft epidemic is 'scaring away tourists'
London 's phone theft 'epidemic' is scaring away tourists, a hotel empire boss has warned. Greg Hegarty has become the latest leading business figure to raise the alert about rampant crime in the UK capital - with pressure on mayor Sadiq Khan to crack down. Mr Hegarty, co-chief executive of PPHE Hotels which has 51 venues across Europe, told of having to hike spending on security in a bid to reassure potential visitors. His concerns come as figures have shown a surge in phone snatching across London, with victims as young as four being targeted. The £50million-a-year crimewave spreading across the country involves thugs speeding on scooters and bikes taking expensive phones from innocent citizens. And now Mr Hegarty says visitors are being put off coming to London, a city that accounted for nearly a quarter of the UK's travel and tourism spending in 2023. The hotel chief said: 'If I'm looking at the South Bank of London, and Oxford Street, you can't carry a mobile phone in the street any more. 'You have got tourists now who are becoming less and less confident in coming or going to certain areas of London.' He described how his firm had doubled investment on security since before the Covid-19 pandemic, with crime risks identified as a 'major concern' both for recreational visitors and corporate customers staging conferences at PPHE hotels. Mr Hegarty told the Telegraph: 'I want our customers to feel safe and valued, because it makes a significant difference. 'They want to know that they can sit in a bar and put their bag down, or sit in the bar and put a mobile phone down instead of being targeted by a gang. 'It's for sure increasing - people are reading [Tripadvisor posts] that are saying, "I'm walking along Westminster Bridge, and I've had my phone stolen".' And he suggested thefts received less attention in London than in other countries, saying: 'There's a lot more active policing elsewhere. When you go to Amsterdam they have got a very tough stance on certain behaviours now.' PPHE, founded in 1989 by Israeli property developer Eli Papouchado, has a property portfolio valued at £2.2billion - with London setttings such as those named art'otel in Hoxton, east London, and at the recently-revamped Battersea Power Station. A Metropolitan Police spokesman said: 'By intensifying our efforts, we're catching more perpetrators and protecting people from having their phones stolen in the capital. 'The Met is also working with other agencies and Government to tackle the organised criminality driving this trade and calling on tech companies to make stolen phones unusable.' Promises have been made in recent days that e-scooters and e-bikes driven by brazen phone snatchers would be destroyed by police within hours of being seized. Previously officers had to warn offenders before taking away and crushing a bike, scooter or any other vehicle driven in an anti-social manner or if it was used to facilitate a theft. But now new powers would mean police no longer have to wait two weeks before throwing them away - and will be able to do so in a two-day time frame. Ministers argued that the current two-week deadline made it less challenging for offenders to re-obtain their vehicles, meaning little discouragement against repeat offending. And while e-bikes and scooters have increasingly annoyed pedestrians, they too are being more frequently used to snatch mobile phones out of the hands of unassuming walkers. According to Metropolitan Police figures, 66,528 phones were stolen in the capital in the year leading up to September 2024. Over the same period in Westminster, 22,253 thefts were reported equating to 85.4 incidents per every 1,000 people. Among recent victims has been a Bridgerton actress who was left 'concussed and traumatised' when her phone was seized at a cafe in west London. Zacariah Boulares, 18, carried out the theft from rising star Genevieve Chenneour as she sat in the Joe & The Juice cafe in Kensington. The Algerian national last week pleaded guilty to stealing the phone when he appeared before Westminster magistrates in central London. He also pleaded guilty to common assault against Carlo Kurcishi, another customer in the same cafe, as well as a separate charge of theft after taking a black leather handbag at a pizza restaurant. Magistrates were told he had 12 previous convictions for 28 offences, all relating to theft. The defendant has now been remanded into custody with sentencing scheduled for June 17 at Isleworth Crown Court in west London. Chenneour has previously spoken of the terrifying moment she fought off the teenage thug who set upon her while she was walking her dog. The actress, who appeared in season three of the Netflix hit show as rumour-monger Clara Livingston, told the Mail on Sunday this month: 'They didn't expect me to stand up for myself – but I did.' The robbery happened when Yorkshire-born Genevieve had stopped at a branch of Joe & The Juice in west London. She said: 'I was left with a concussion just before the Screen Actors Guild Awards and since then, I've felt constantly on edge. 'Even my dog was traumatised - now, if anyone touches me, he panics and tries to protect me. 'Getting a coffee shouldn't be something you need your wits about you for. Discussing the new vows to destroy bikes used in such thefts, policing minister Dame Diana Johnson said: 'Anti-social and reckless driving brings misery to communities across the country, from dangerous street racing to off-road bikes tearing through local parks. 'By enabling police to seize and dispose of these vehicles within just 48 hours, we're giving our officers the tools they need to deliver immediate results and providing communities the swift justice they deserve. 'As part of our Plan for Change, these new powers send a clear message that anti-social behaviour, whatever form it takes, will not be tolerated in our local communities.' The Government is also looking to increase fines for seizing, towing and crushing vehicles, after a previous consultation found fees last went up almost two decades ago in 2008. It comes as Scotland Yard has decided to fight back against London's mobile theft epidemic by using invisible DNA. Officers hope that marking e-bikes, an increasingly popular mode of getaway for marauding robbers, will allow them to track, catch and prosecute suspects. They are also spraying riders' clothes and skin with the invisible dye, which contains a unique DNA code only seen under UV light. The substance, known as SelectaDNA, sticks on a target for several months allowing police to link them to a specific theft via the special code. The method is being introduced in various hotspots around the country including London, Cambridgeshire, Hertfordshire and Scotland. How to protect your mobile from e-bike i-jackers Criminals often use bikes and mopeds to snatch mobile phones from people, particularly at busy locations such as outside stations, shopping centres or concert venues. Often victims are approached from behind while talking or texting on phones. Criminals on mopeds or bicycles may mount the pavement to grab the phone or snatch it from the road. Sometimes when it's a moped, a pillion passenger will snatch it. While most thefts happen between six and ten at night, criminals operate during the day too, so always look out for what's going on around you. The Metropolitan Police has urged people to follow these steps to protect your phone: Be aware of your surroundings If you need to call or use your phone on the street, look out for anyone on a bike or a moped near you. Look up, look out Make it quick so you don't become distracted Don't text while you're walking – you won't notice what's going on around you If that's not possible, stand away from the roadside, close to a building or wall, so no one can come up behind you Going hands-free can prevent a thief from snatching your phone out of your hand Use security features on your phone You must switch on your phone's security features to protect your phone Use the keypad lock so that thieves cannot immediately access your phone, or use the biometric authentication if your phone has it (fingerprint or facial recognition) Your phone may have other security features you can use – these could allow you to wipe data, lock your handset, or prevent a thief from restoring a phone to its factory settings from another internet device Consider installing an anti-theft app. These can be an effective way of helping police trace your phone and identify the thief Know how to identify your phone if it's stolen Every phone has an IMEI number which helps police and insurance companies to identify it if it's stolen. UK network operators can also stop a stolen phone from working across their networks with its IMEI Register your valuables on an accredited property database.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
London's crime epidemic ‘is scaring away tourists'
Credit: Met Police Tourists are becoming too scared to visit London because of surging levels of phone thefts, the boss of a £2.2bn hotel empire has warned. Greg Hegarty, the chief executive of PPHE Hotels, which runs 51 locations across Europe, said the company had ramped up its spending on security because travellers were increasingly worried about high crime rates in the capital. He said: 'If I'm looking at the South Bank of London, and Oxford Street, you can't carry a mobile phone in the street any more. You have got tourists now who are becoming less and less confident in coming or going to certain areas of London.' The issue is becoming a 'major concern' for recreational travellers and corporate clients who frequently host events such as conferences at PPHE's London hotels, he said. As a result, spending on security by the hotel group has roughly doubled compared with pre-pandemic levels. Mr Hegarty said: 'I want our customers to feel safe and valued, because it makes a significant difference. They want to know that they can sit in a bar and put their bag down, or sit in the bar and put a mobile phone down instead of being targeted by a gang.' However, he warned that the crime epidemic was damaging the capital's reputation as a good place to visit or do business. Robbery and theft rates have soared in London in recent years, with mobile phone thefts of particular concern. More than 70,000 phones were stolen in the city in 2024, up from over 52,400 thefts in 2023. In the City of Westminster, reported thefts from a person – a crime that covers phone snatching – rose from around six per 1,000 people in September 2021 to more than 20 per 1,000 by September 2024, according to police figures. Beyond phones, people have also had luxury watches stolen from their wrists by gangs in the street or on public transport, or had other valuable items taken, such as jewellery. Mr Hegarty said: 'It's for sure increasing. People are reading [Tripadvisor posts] that are saying 'I'm walking along Westminster Bridge, and I've had my phone stolen'.' Phone theft has become a booming black market industry worth around £50m per year, with many devices thought to be shipped abroad once they are stolen. The crime wave has sparked a clampdown by the Metropolitan Police, which said it 'stepped up' operations to catch phone thieves and bring them to justice. However, Mr Hegarty questioned how effective these efforts were. He said: 'I have had the police force come into one of our hotels, the general manager told me, saying 'Could you give this leaflet to customers?' which says to be careful of your mobile phones and your watches. 'What are you going to do if you're a family of five checking in from the US, being given a leaflet like that when you check into a hotel? It's not what you want.' Mr Hegarty said he believed petty crimes were being 'investigated a lot more' in other regions where PPHE does business. 'There's a lot more active policing elsewhere. When you go to Amsterdam they have got a very tough stance on certain behaviours now,' he said. Founded in 1989 by Eli Papouchado, an Israeli property developer, PPHE is one of Europe's largest hotel companies. It oversees a £2.2bn property portfolio of hotels, and is best known for the art'otel and Park Plaza brands. The company turned over revenues of more than £440m in 2024. Last year it opened the doors of its latest investment, a £310m new art'otel in Hoxton, east London. The hotel sits in a purpose-built 27-floor tower complete with a 25th floor restaurant, a luxury spa and its own art gallery – with a collection that includes two works by Banksy. Mr Hegarty called it a 'mammoth' undertaking that he hoped would boost tourism to the area and contribute to the local economy. However, he cautioned that recent political events had dampened his enthusiasm for doing business in the UK. Mr Hegarty said the company was having to scale back its investment plans and cut jobs as a result of Rachel Reeves's decision to hit employers with a £25bn tax raid in her October budget last year. Mr Hegarty said: 'We have had to react. We have had to make cutbacks, we are consolidating our corporate office, we are reducing headcount in hotels – which is unfortunate.' PPHE employs almost 3,000 people across the UK. The Treasury has insisted higher taxes on businesses are necessary to help plug an alleged 'black hole' in the nations finances left by the former Conservative government. However, hospitality chiefs have been angered by the way in which the Chancellor went about raising revenue. Ms Reeves's decision to not only increase the rate of employers' National Insurance (NI) contributions but also lower the threshold at which it is paid has hit pubs, restaurants and hotels particularly heavily because of the high numbers of lower-paid and part-time staff these businesses employ. Mr Hegarty said: 'The Government overlooks hospitality. We're overlooked and overtaxed. If you go on your high street, you've got cafes which can't open, you've got restaurant brands which have been around for years going bankrupt, and you've got hotels closing. 'I think we've been in the worst place we've been in decades as an industry.' PPHE still plans to keep opening hotels in the UK regardless of the tax raid. However, Mr Hegarty said the burden of increased labour costs meant it would prioritise 'select service' hotels – which rely more on technology and offer fewer amenities compared to traditional 'full service' locations. Mr Hegarty said: 'I am not bringing a full service hotel back on to this market until I see things improving. [Select service] is a nice level of accommodation and services, but for example there'll be no room service, there'll be no kitchens, it'll be heavily automated. So for me, that's impacted jobs in the community.' He was equally dispirited by the prospect of more tax rises in the autumn. Another raid looks increasingly likely after the recent about-turn by Sir Keir Starmer on winter fuel payments and a likely policy change on the two-child benefit cap. The Telegraph recently revealed that Angela Rayner, the Deputy Prime Minister, wrote to Ms Reeves in the spring demanding a spate of further rises – such as removing inheritance tax relief for AIM shares and changing the tax on company dividends. Mr Hegarty said: 'It just makes London less attractive. London once was one of the global financial powerhouses, and we are having people leave us to go to Amsterdam. I can tell you now that customers I've lost in London, I've actually gained in Amsterdam.' A Metropolitan Police spokesman said: 'By intensifying our efforts, we're catching more perpetrators and protecting people from having their phones stolen in the capital. The Met is also working with other agencies and Government to tackle the organised criminality driving this trade and calling on tech companies to make stolen phones unusable.' A Treasury spokesman said: 'We are a pro-business Government, and we know the vital importance of the hospitality sector to local communities and the wider economy, which is why we are supporting them with business rates relief, cutting duty on draught pints, capping corporation tax, and are protecting the smallest businesses from the employer National Insurance rise – which is helping to fund the NHS.' Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. 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Telegraph
3 days ago
- Business
- Telegraph
London's crime epidemic ‘is scaring away tourists'
Tourists are becoming too scared to visit London because of surging levels of phone thefts, the boss of a £2.2bn hotel empire has warned. Greg Hegarty, the chief executive of PPHE Hotels, which runs 51 locations across Europe, said the company had ramped up its spending on security because travellers were increasingly worried about high crime rates in the capital. He said: 'If I'm looking at the South Bank of London, and Oxford Street, you can't carry a mobile phone in the street any more. You have got tourists now who are becoming less and less confident in coming or going to certain areas of London.' The issue is becoming a 'major concern' for recreational travellers and corporate clients who frequently host events such as conferences at PPHE's London hotels, he said. As a result, spending on security by the hotel group has roughly doubled compared with pre-pandemic levels. Mr Hegarty said: 'I want our customers to feel safe and valued, because it makes a significant difference. They want to know that they can sit in a bar and put their bag down, or sit in the bar and put a mobile phone down instead of being targeted by a gang.' However, he warned that the crime epidemic was damaging the capital's reputation as a good place to visit or do business. Robbery and theft rates have soared in London in recent years, with mobile phone thefts of particular concern. More than 70,000 phones were stolen in the city in 2024, up from over 52,400 thefts in 2023. In the City of Westminster, reported thefts from a person – a crime that covers phone snatching – rose from around six per 1,000 people in September 2021 to more than 20 per 1,000 by September 2024, according to police figures. Beyond phones, people have also had luxury watches stolen from their wrists by gangs in the street or on public transport, or had other valuable items taken, such as jewellery. Mr Hegarty said: 'It's for sure increasing. People are reading [Tripadvisor posts] that are saying 'I'm walking along Westminster Bridge, and I've had my phone stolen'.' Phone theft has become a booming black market industry worth around £50m per year, with many devices thought to be shipped abroad once they are stolen. The crime wave has sparked a clampdown by the Metropolitan Police, which said it 'stepped up' operations to catch phone thieves and bring them to justice. However, Mr Hegarty questioned how effective these efforts were. He said: 'I have had the police force come into one of our hotels, the general manager told me, saying 'Could you give this leaflet to customers?' which says to be careful of your mobile phones and your watches. 'What are you going to do if you're a family of five checking in from the US, being given a leaflet like that when you check into a hotel? It's not what you want.' Mr Hegarty said he believed petty crimes were being 'investigated a lot more' in other regions where PPHE does business. 'There's a lot more active policing elsewhere. When you go to Amsterdam they have got a very tough stance on certain behaviours now,' he said. Founded in 1989 by Eli Papouchado, an Israeli property developer, PPHE is one of Europe's largest hotel companies. It oversees a £2.2bn property portfolio of hotels, and is best known for the art'otel and Park Plaza brands. The company turned over revenues of more than £440m in 2024. Last year it opened the doors of its latest investment, a £310m new art'otel in Hoxton, east London. The hotel sits in a purpose-built 27-floor tower complete with a 25th floor restaurant, a luxury spa and its own art gallery – with a collection that includes two works by Banksy. Mr Hegarty called it a 'mammoth' undertaking that he hoped would boost tourism to the area and contribute to the local economy. However, he cautioned that recent political events had dampened his enthusiasm for doing business in the UK. Mr Hegarty said the company was having to scale back its investment plans and cut jobs as a result of Rachel Reeves's decision to hit employers with a £25bn tax raid in her October budget last year. Mr Hegarty said: 'We have had to react. We have had to make cutbacks, we are consolidating our corporate office, we are reducing headcount in hotels – which is unfortunate.' PPHE employs almost 3,000 people across the UK. 'We're overlooked and overtaxed' The Treasury has insisted higher taxes on businesses are necessary to help plug an alleged 'black hole' in the nations finances left by the former Conservative government. However, hospitality chiefs have been angered by the way in which the Chancellor went about raising revenue. Ms Reeves's decision to not only increase the rate of employers' National Insurance (NI) contributions but also lower the threshold at which it is paid has hit pubs, restaurants and hotels particularly heavily because of the high numbers of lower-paid and part-time staff these businesses employ. Mr Hegarty said: 'The Government overlooks hospitality. We're overlooked and overtaxed. If you go on your high street, you've got cafes which can't open, you've got restaurant brands which have been around for years going bankrupt, and you've got hotels closing. 'I think we've been in the worst place we've been in decades as an industry.' PPHE still plans to keep opening hotels in the UK regardless of the tax raid. However, Mr Hegarty said the burden of increased labour costs meant it would prioritise 'select service' hotels – which rely more on technology and offer fewer amenities compared to traditional 'full service' locations. Mr Hegarty said: 'I am not bringing a full service hotel back on to this market until I see things improving. [Select service] is a nice level of accommodation and services, but for example there'll be no room service, there'll be no kitchens, it'll be heavily automated. So for me, that's impacted jobs in the community.' He was equally dispirited by the prospect of more tax rises in the autumn. Another raid looks increasingly likely after the recent about-turn by Sir Keir Starmer on winter fuel payments and a likely policy change on the two-child benefit cap. The Telegraph recently revealed that Angela Rayner, the Deputy Prime Minister, wrote to Ms Reeves in the spring demanding a spate of further rises – such as removing inheritance tax relief for AIM shares and changing the tax on company dividends. Mr Hegarty said: 'It just makes London less attractive. London once was one of the global financial powerhouses, and we are having people leave us to go to Amsterdam. I can tell you now that customers I've lost in London, I've actually gained in Amsterdam.' A Metropolitan Police spokesman said: 'By intensifying our efforts, we're catching more perpetrators and protecting people from having their phones stolen in the capital. The Met is also working with other agencies and Government to tackle the organised criminality driving this trade and calling on tech companies to make stolen phones unusable.' A Treasury spokesman said: 'We are a pro-business Government, and we know the vital importance of the hospitality sector to local communities and the wider economy, which is why we are supporting them with business rates relief, cutting duty on draught pints, capping corporation tax, and are protecting the smallest businesses from the employer National Insurance rise – which is helping to fund the NHS.'
Daily Mail
26-05-2025
- Daily Mail
The fightback against London's phone snatchers: Police target brazen thieves with invisible DNA tagging spray as they warn 'we will catch you'
Police are targeting London 's phone snatchers with invisible DNA tagging spray as Scotland Yard fights back against the brazen thieves. Officers hope that marking e-bikes, an increasingly popular mode of getaway for marauding robbers, will allow them to track, catch and prosecute suspects. They are also spraying riders' clothes and skin with the invisible dye, which contains a unique DNA code only seen under UV light. The substance, known as SelectaDNA, sticks on a target for several months allowing police to link them to a specific theft via thespecial code. The innovative method is being introduced in various hotspots around the country including London, Cambridgeshire, Hertfordshire and Scotland. Inspector Dan Jones, who leads the Watford neighbourhood policing team in Hertfordshire, told The Telegraph: 'It's another tool in our box of tactics to make it increasingly difficult for criminals to operate. 'The spray will enable us to identify those responsible without the need to engage in risky high-speed pursuits. 'We want this to serve as a warning to those involved – expect a knock on the door, because we will catch up with you. Phone and bag thefts are increasingly blighting the capital and beyond, rising by 70 per cent nationally over the last year and soaring to a 20-year high, according to the Crime Survey for England and Wales. And electric bikes are frequently used as escape vehicles thanks to their ability to reach high speeds. The pilot of SelectaDNA spray is set to last six months before the results are evaluated. Business owners are also being handed kits in targeted Hertfordshire locations in a bid to protect their equipment and products. The substance has been used previously to enforce domestic abuse restraining orders, through use in victims' homes or by being handed to the victims themselves so they can spray at their abuser if they breach the orders. The Met has also used SelectaDNA in shops to clamp down on shoplifters. It comes after Met Police officers seized more than 1,000 stolen phones and arrested 230 people in a week-long blitz earlier this year. They carried out the targeted operation as the force ramps up its bid to bring an end to the marauding phone thieves who prowl around the city on e-bikes and mopeds. During one arrest in north-east London, a 15-year-old boy riding an illegal e-bike was found with a 'large' knife and £1,000 in cash. An increase in patrols and operations have been carried out in hotspot areas, including the West End and Westminster, where the Met says nearly 40 per cent of phone thefts occur. Officers have used plain-clothes tactics and victims' reports to snare a gang who were caught handling more than 5,000 stolen phones. Over an 18-month period, Zakaria Senadjki, 31, Ahmed Abdelhakim Belhanafi, 25, Nazih Cheraitia, 34, and Riyadh Mamouni, 25, were at the centre of the terrifying trend of gadget grabbing sweeping the capital. Their crimes totalled a whopping £5.1million, an investigation by the Met Police found - with many of the devices believed to have been sold abroad. The four men were all jailed in November last year to a combined total of 18 years behind bars. The fightback appears to be working and, in recent months, 'various operations' deployed by the police force involving monitoring CCTV footage, increasing officers' awareness and 'employing' traffic units and surge teams have brought about a decrease in phone theft. A 27 per cent decrease was recorded in November 2024 while, in an even more promising statistic, a 43 per cent decrease was achieved the following month. 'There's been various operations by different proactive teams specifically towards two-wheel enabled crime,' a video posted by the Met Police on X announced. 'And also just officers on the ground being more aware of it happening and going on the radio. CCTV operators shouting out before they commit offences so we can get the necessary units with the skills down. 'If a phone pings on a certain location of the map, we can plot the route that they're taking and where they end up, and then hopefully find out where those phones are going.' Westminster, London's most affected borough, saw 18,863 reported incidents in 2024 up until December. The Met Police though, insist that 'really, really good' CCTV coverage in the posh London borough will be influential in stopping gangs of thieves snatching devices, 'There's CCTV cameras, one of the things in this borough (Westminster), they're actually really, really good quality and we do have quite a lot of coverage,' the video posted on February 7 continued. 'We employ the use of traffic units and SURGE (Surge and Rapid Response Team) teams and they have high driving skills and the ability to - if there is a high risk - knock them off the bikes. 'Sometimes they (the thieves) do carry large weapons so it's about immediate control of the arms, immediate control of the hands, and making sure you have sufficient units around you to support. 'Between the actual offender doing a snatch, being monitored by CCTV operators and National Police Air Support, in their travels, they are being followed the whole time until police units can catch up and detain them and arrest them.' Last week, Gone Girl star Rosamund Pike revealed she was punched in the face and had her mobile phone snatched violently out of her hand by a 'mugger' on a bicycle. The James Bond actress, 46, spoke of her '15 minutes' of hell when she was targeted by the thief in 2006 as she spoke to her mother while walking down the street. She said she screamed in terror and her mum, Caroline Friend, was left fearing the worst until she was able to call her back on another phone. Rosamund, who starred with Piers Brosnan in Die Another Day (2002), told Magic Radio: 'I was on the phone to my mother — on a mobile phone walking along a road — and I was mugged. 'The phone was snatched so all she heard was me scream and a thud and the phone went dead.' She said the 'mugger' was a kid who sped past her on a bicycle and punched her down the side of her cheek. Rosamund, who was born in London, said the thief took her mobile phone and left her with a bruise on her face. The actress is one of a number of celebs who have fallen victim to the terrifying trend. Former tennis star Annabel Croft said her mobile was stolen 'clean out of her hands' while she waited for a taxi outside London King's Cross station in June last year. Ms Croft wrote on Instagram: 'I just wanted to warn people who are on their own in London. I just got mugged waiting for a taxi outside King's Cross St Pancreas. 'The man was riding a bike and wearing a black balaclava. He rode straight at me and took my phone clean out of my hands. 'He rode away with it but luckily dropped my phone so I got it back. Terrifying!' Meanwhile, TV presenter Kym Marsh also had her phone swiped from her hand on a London street in March. Speaking to her co-host Gethin Jones on BBC's Morning Live, she said: 'It is quite a scary thing to happen to you, you're walking down a road and then all of a sudden something's taken out of your hand. 'And that was about a fortnight ago that was taken from me. But thankfully I was okay.'
