We hear occasional good news stories where somebody is able to use Find My iPhone to track a stolen device and successfully recover it, but a new record has been set when tracking a single iPhone led to a gang suspected of smuggling up to 40,000 stolen phones to China. The iPhone was tracked to an airport warehouse where it was found in a box with 894 other phones, leading to the arrest of 18 suspects and more than 2,000 recovered phones … BBC News reports. Police say they have dismantled an international gang suspected of smuggling up to 40,000 stolen mobile phones from the UK to China in the past year. In what the Metropolitan Police says is the UK’s largest ever operation against phone thefts, 18 suspects have been arrested and more than 2,000 stolen devices discovered. Police believe the gang could be responsible for exporting up to half of all phones stolen in London, where most mobiles are taken in the UK. The story began when an iPhone was stolen and the victim tracked it to a warehouse near London’s Heathrow airport. Police initially asked the on-site security team to check the location, where the device was found in a box with another 894 phones. This led to the interception of other shipments to the same address, and police were able to capture DNA on the packages and identify two suspects. It’s likely that police then used some mix of known associates and covert surveillance to target other properties; what we know for sure is that they raided 28 addresses, where 2,000 devices were found. The report says that phone theft is now so lucrative that many drug dealers have switched to this crime. “We’re hearing that some criminals are stopping dealing drugs and moving on to the phone business because it’s more lucrative,” Policing Minister Sarah Jones said. “If you steal a phone and it’s worth hundreds of pounds you can understand why criminals who are one step ahead and want to exploit new crimes are turning to that world.” Senior officers said the criminal gang specifically targeted Apple products because of their profitability overseas. The Met Police investigation discovered street thieves were being paid up to £300 per handset – and the force said stolen devices are being sold in China for up to £4,000 each, given they are internet-enabled and more attractive for those trying to bypass censorship. Thieves are often able to steal unlocked devices by snatching them in the street while people are using them. Apple has added a succession of theft protection features over the years, Like Activation Lock and Stolen Device Protection. It’s not immediately clear how the gang has overcome these protections, but one possibility is that they keep the phones permanently powered on and unlocked. This would work in this case, given that the value here is a foreign device that isn’t locked down in the same way as local devices, rather than being able to make it work with the user’s own Apple ID. Highlighted accessories Image: BBC News