A Londoner who had his phone snatched out his hands managed to track his device all the way to China.
Sukru Haskan was holding his iPhone 14 when a man on an electric bike grabbed it out of his hand on Brompton Street, Knightsbridge.
The 41-year-old told MailOnline: ‘He was on one of those e-bikes and he was wearing these thick gloves and he just grabbed it the phone.
‘I’m a fit guy but I didn’t even intend to run after him because by the time I looked he was so far away.’
Sukru said he was able to see where his phone was while he was being interviewed by officers.
‘First it moved to Hyde Park, then Finsbury Park. I was sending screenshots to police, but the next thing it was in China,’ he said.
‘The police came and interviewed me but as they were doing that I could see it moving around London. It makes you lose your sense of trust in our security.’
The device was located in Shenzhen, which is known has been dubbed China’s ‘Silicon Valley’.
But despite knowing where his phone was, police closed the case after it was discovered to have travelled out of the country.
Sukru said: ‘I get how you can’t prevent phones being stolen from a metropolitan city. What I’m not happy with is how afterwards, your phone gets transported to a different country with ease.
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‘I’ve seen online hundreds of thousands of phones end up in China. It’s become a large business, a global trade, and nothing is being done.
‘The police closed my case because no suspects could be found, but it’s part of an international crime organisation.’
Metropolitan Police has been contacted for comment.
In April another phone snatching victim traced her device to the same address in Shenzhen.
Emma Hall had a phone stolen by a ‘gang of youths on bike’ near her flat in Leyton High Street, east London.
More than 52,000 phones were stole in London last year.
The worst-hit borough was the City of Westminster, with 18,863 incidents reported.
Camden was the second worst affected, with 4,806 incidents, followed by Southwark (4,376), Hackney (2,761), Newham (2,585), Lambeth (2,394) and Islington (2,117).
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