Phone snatching network behind one in four thefts in London targeted in police crackdown

Criminals snatching smartphones on the street has become a growing problem (Metropolitan Police/PA) - (PA Media)

An “industrial scale” phone snatching network thought to be behind one in four thefts in London has been targeted in the largest ever operation to tackle the crime wave.

The gang is suspected to have smuggled up to 40,000 stolen phones from the UK to China in the past year – almost 40 per cent of all phones stolen in the capital.