Achi news desk-
Jackie, 30, from Sydney, was using her phone while walking down a street in Shoreditch, in the East London borough of Hackney, when a thief on a motorcycle overtook her.
“I was walking home from work, and I thought I was going to enjoy the nicer weather, and a guy on a motorcycle grabbed it right out of my hand while I was waiting to cross the road,” she told 9news.com.au.
“It was a bit aggressive, but mostly it was really shocking how quickly it happened.
“I couldn’t even work the next morning because I need my phone to get on my laptop.”
Jackie reported her phone stolen to the police but decided to try her luck using Find My iPhone.
To her surprise her phone rang inside a building in Shenzhen in the Chinese province of Guangdong, some 10,000 kilometers away.
After talking to other expats about the incident she said she found out she wasn’t the only victim.
“Most of the Austrians I know here have had the same thing happen to them,” she said.
“Apparently this is a full operation where phones are taken and resold. Mine is sitting in a factory in China.”
Of these, 14,953 involved the suspect using a bicycle, motorcycle, moped, scooter, electric bicycle or scooter, the Met Police said.
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There are vendors dedicated to phone repairs, refurbishing, and even shops that make “Frankenstein phones,” a phone made using parts from other devices.
Jackie said the police told her it was unlikely they would be able to get her phone back.
In the 2022 period, of the 90,864 stolen phones only 1,915 were recovered, according to Met Police data.
Jackie said she wondered what would happen to her phone once it left Shenzhen.
“It was just pulled out of my hand. I’ll never take my phone out in public again,” she said.
A Met Police spokesperson told 9news.com.au: “We have specialist teams of uniformed officers and detectives who attend robbery calls quickly, scan the area with victims and witnesses for suspects and help secure CCTV evidence and forensics to support mobile phone. Robberies and investigations.”
“We advise everyone to remain alert to their surroundings in crowded areas and on the transportation network.”
