Losing an iphone due to robbery is already an unpleasant experience, but what many users do not know is the complex and organized International route that can undertake that device after being taken away.
According to a recent investigation of the Financial Timesa global network is turning these phones stolen into a lucrative business that directly connects the streets of cities such as London, New York, Madrid and Paris With the commercial skyscrapers of Shenzhen, in China.
Where is your stolen iPhone?
Everything begins with a seemingly victim of chance. In the case of Sam Amrani, a London entrepreneur, two men on electric bicycles snatched his iPhone 15 Pro. Through the function Look for Apple, could follow the device trail, which first went to a local repair workshop, Then to Hong Kongand finally to the well -known district of Huaqiangbei, world epicenter of electronics trade. And more specifically, to Feiyang Times, a place that already begins to be known as “the stolen iPhone building.”
This place, located on the fourth floor of a skyscraper without interest, has become a crucial node within an international traffic chain. There they are sold thousands of second -hand iPhonemany of them from legitimate repurchase programs. However, some vendors recognize without capujos that even the phones blocked by ICLOUD have their market price. Although Apple has improved security barriers, thieves continue to find ways to get benefit, especially disassembling the devices and Selling your pieces separately: screens, chips, base plates and more. Everything has a way out in such a specialized market.
The key to this operation is Hong Kong. Thanks to its status as a free port No import taxesthe city has established itself as an intermediate step to send these iPhone. There, in an industrial building located in 1 Hung to Road, in the Kwun Tong district, hundreds of wholesalers freely advertise phones with labels such as “icloud locked” through private messaging platforms. According to one of the sellers interviewed in the report, many of these blocked devices come from robberies in the United States and then distributed to countries such as China or even Middle East regions.
Global Robed iPhone Market
The scope of this network is alarming. In London alone, the police estimate that mobile robberies move near 50 million pounds a year. A figure that is increasing in other European and American cities. And the most disturbing thing is that some stolen iPhone owners have received messages from Shenzhen when they have activated the lost mode of the device, pressing them even with threats to disconnect their Icloud mobile, so that the terminal acquires a much greater value.
Although Hong Kong police have declared the Financial Times that will take the necessary measures according to the circumstances, the business does not stop. This large and popular market make each iPhone stolen a business opportunity, fueled by the high global technology demand.
All this shows a disturbing reality, and after the theft of a device an international criminal network can hide with great experience and effective methods, which takes advantage of even the slightest component.
