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A specialist operation tackling phone thieves operating in London tourist hotspots has resulted in a gang of six suspect being arrested for robbery. The swoop came as mobile phone theft in the capital plunged by 13,000 in the past year, amid a crackdown that has seen the Metropolitan Police deploy drones and highspeed e-bikes. In total, 67,064 phone theft offences were recorded in the year ending April 2026.

The latest figures also showed a 21% reduction in theft from a person offences across London in the last financial year, representing 20,000 fewer victims. As part of Operation Catchclaw, plain clothes officers and specialist interceptor teams are being deployed along with heat-seeking drones capturing evidence of thefts, Sur-Ron highspeed electric motorbikes and live facial recognition technology. Detective Superintendent Gareth Gilbert, who is leading the operation, the focus is on the "night-time economy" and the exploitation of children by organised gangs. He said: "What we realise is it's not a one-off operation because if we arrest someone, there are the people who see the lucrative market in these phones so they will fill that vacuum.

"This is an ongoing piece where we are arresting people and getting those positive outcomes."

During a week-long operation in Southwark and Lambeth in April, officers cut e-bike enabled crime, which is linked to phone theft, by 40%, Gilbert said. Some 3,000 illegally modified e-bikes and e-scooters have been seized since January 2025, the Met said.

Phone theft remains particularly attractive to children, some as young as 13, who are often recruited for highspeed snatch-thefts and are paid up to £200 pounds per device.

Thieves are usually dressed in all black outfits with face masks, and many use electric bikes that have been illegally modified to become motorbikes with some reaching 60 miles per hour.

Interceptors have only a matter of minutes to catch a phone thief in the act from the point it is stolen. Most stolen phones are quickly sold on, often passed through highly organised criminal gangs before being shipped overseas. It is a trade estimated to be worth more than £50 million a year.

Last week's operation culminated with officers target crime hotspots around Southbank, Borough Market and Waterloo where phone theft is rife.

Plain clothes officers, specialist pursuit drivers and motorbikes were deployed and shortly after midnight, officers identified a group of six suspected phone thieves operating on Borough High Street in Southwark. The suspects were using a distraction tactic which involved approaching members of the public and asking them to open their phones to follow them on social media. While the device was unlocked, they would steal the phone. Officers moved in within minutes to intercept the group, arresting the suspects on suspicion of conspiracy to rob.

Gilbert added: "Our message is simple: if you commit these crimes, we will catch you."

Officers made 15 arrests in total over a 12-hour period, for offences including robbery, theft and drugs related offences.

Met Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley has called on phone manufacturers and technology companies to do more to stop stolen devices being reset and resold.

He has set a deadline of 1 June for industry to introduce meaningful measures to help "design out crime" by making stolen phones worthless. If progress is not made, the Met will ask the government to consider legislative action.