In the last four weeks, authorities in London, United Kingdom have arrested over 200 individuals in a major phone theft crackdown, employing drones and facial recognition to identify suspects.

The Metropolitan Police confirmed 248 arrests for mobile phone theft, with around 770 devices seized, and an additional 122 people arrested for other offences linked to the operation, according to Sky news.

Commander Andrew Featherstone stated that “cutting-edge” tools such as drones, e-bikes, and live facial recognition had been deployed “to identify and arrest suspects quickly.”

“These tactics are delivering results,” he added.

Year-on-year, the force reported that recorded phone thefts dropped by nearly 10,000, falling from 81,365 in 2024 to 71,391 last year. In hotspots such as the West End, thefts have fallen by 30 per cent.

Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley said fewer Londoners were “facing the stress, cost, and disruption that comes with having their phone stolen,” but urged the courts to prevent repeat offenders from being released.

He warned that some phone thieves are being bailed “only to go out and offend again,” which “undermines the hard work officers are doing to keep communities safe.”

He also called on tech companies to do more “to stop criminals being able to reset, reuse, or resell stolen phones.”

This follows last year’s revelation that the Met Police had arrested 46 people suspected of belonging to a criminal network smuggling up to 40,000 stolen phones from the UK to China.

At the time, Commander Featherstone described the operation as “the largest crackdown on mobile phone theft and robbery in the UK.”