Cops actually doing something? Wow, my opinion of them is now only 99.99% negative
>looks at link "British Broadcasting Channel"
>check location Ah, there we go, "UK"; American cops would just be eating donuts and getting fat
this post was submitted on 07 Oct 2025
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The phone was probably stolen from a protestor they were investigating and the bust was coincidental.
Fatter*
Donuts worked out beating the shit out of people in custody if they don't smell like good private lawyer.
How the fuck does this go on for 40,000 phones? Are phones in China not like in the western world where they're effectively bricks without the ability to unlock them? Does nobody have FindMy or similar?
There’s a carefully designed process that involves sealing the phones in faraday bags so they can’t communicate with the outside worlds, and then replacing/reprogramming certain components so the phone works outside of the Find My ecosystem.
These phones are reprogrammed and re-chipped en masse and then sent all over the world. See all those “mobile phone repair” shops all over your high street/strip mall? they’re all getting their stock from the same place.
Apple operating the hardware pairing scheme is just a cat and mouse game with this industry.
The stolen phones can be broken up for parts. They probably aren’t just reselling the devices whole.
As far as I know recent iPhones all have parts pairing, so you can’t swap parts between phones unless Apple authorises it. Absolutely sucks ass for repairability, but it’s supposed to help in the context of stolen phones.
I guess thieves found a way to circumvent it, otherwise it wouldn’t make sense
I guess thieves found a way to circumvent it, otherwise it wouldn’t make sense
Even if they haven’t (yet), it’s still a recent development. There are plenty of old models out there without it, not to mention Android phones which hold the majority market share in the UK.
The phones are returning home 😅
China could very well be the redistribution point to elsewhere in the world. When you’re the global hub of shipping it’s much easier for a few bonus goods to make their way around the system.
There's a lot of reasons iPhones are specifically targeted for theft. Besides China being a giant hub for fences.
- There are FOMO or vain people who want one for cheap... and almost new. Just like their hankering for Louis Vuitton bags and Gucci scarves.
- There are those third party repair shops who want cheap parts for repairing other iPhones instead of asking from Apple.
- There are those who buy them en masse for their scam and spam farms.
- And in some places and for certain groups, it's safer and more profitable than selling meth.
Wouldn't it be easier to steal them in China? It's where most of them come from after all.
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
I'm guessing buyers specifically want non-Chinese devices, and stealing from individuals is easier than from a factory.
Seems like something you could accomplish with jailbreaking. Or perhaps a bit of soddering.
These devices aren't magic. Stealing and shipping phones at this scale halfway around the world seems inefficient to say the least.
But I guess organized criminals and their clients aren't always that smart.
It’s not about efficiency, it’s about it working. They don’t exactly need to do it at a price point because it’s a “price is what I say it is” kind of deal.
I wouldn’t be surprised if they had guards armed with SMGs and full body armour guarding the shipments as they leave the factory.
Since Apple shrunk the packaging they could probably fit a million iPhones in one shipping container. Think how much that’d be worth!
There's a pixar film here where a phone get sent to the US, but misses it's manufacturer and like the one ring leaps from owner to thief to fence to reseller in china...
You better eat that entire iPhone. There are starving children building them in china!
Video audio inaccurate? Maybe the guy was the Afghan national or it’s a different raid.
Article said Afghan guy, video said both woman and man were Bulgarian nationals.
That's the power of just one LED right there.