Ismat Miakhel, 33, was jailed for nine years for his role in an organised crime group that trafficked up to 40,000 stolen phones to China
A Walthamstow man has been jailed for nine years for his role in a criminal network responsible for trafficking tens of thousands of stolen mobile phones from the UK to China.
Ismat Miakhel, 33, of The Drive, was sentenced at Southwark Crown Court on Friday 25th September, after pleading guilty to conspiracy to receive stolen mobile phones, conspiracy to transfer or export stolen mobile phones, and participating in the activities of an organised crime group.
Miakhel was one of three men sentenced to a combined 25 years following a year-long Metropolitan Police investigation into what the force described as the UK’s “largest mobile phone smuggling network”.
Detectives found the group was responsible for trafficking up to 40,000 stolen phones to China during 2024 and 2025. The Met believes the devices accounted for around 40% of all phones stolen in London during that period.
The investigation, codenamed Operation Echosteep, began in December 2024 after officers discovered a shipment of around 1,000 iPhones at a warehouse near Heathrow Airport destined for Hong Kong. Almost all of the phones were found to have been stolen.
Further shipments were intercepted, while forensic evidence from packaging helped detectives identify those involved.
On 23rd September 2025, officers arrested Miakhel and Amir Muhammad Khadikhel, 35, of Eastway, Wanstead. Several hundred phones were recovered from their car, while a further 2,000 devices were seized from properties linked to the men.
Khadikhel was sentenced to nine-and-a-half years, while Mansoor Mohammed, 30, of High Road, Wood Green, received six-and-a-half years.
The Met said the operation exposed a supply chain linking phone thieves operating on London’s streets with international handlers and exporters.
Commander Andy Featherstone, the Met’s lead for tackling mobile phone theft, said: “[These] sentences send a clear message: if you steal phones, we’ll come after you.
“This result is down to the relentless work of our officers, who painstakingly pieced together the evidence, tracked this criminal gang’s activity and built the case that has brought these men to justice.
“We’ve already cut phone theft by a fifth this year, meaning thousands fewer victims. London is becoming even safer, but we’re not slowing down. We’ll keep targeting the thieves, handlers and exporters driving this crime.”
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