London, Feb 6 (PTI) Scotland Yard on Thursday revealed the results of its intensifying clampdown on the estimated GBP 50 million-a-year trade in stolen smartphones, a majority snatched out of the hands of unsuspecting phone users on London streets.

The Metropolitan Police said 230 people were arrested and more than 1,000 handsets were seized as those responsible for the theft, handling, and onward criminal supply or exportation of smartphones were specifically targeted during a week of coordinated activity across the UK capital.

Also Read | February 6 Birthdays and Birth Anniversaries: Know About Famous People and Celebrities Born on February 6.

The country's largest police force said this targeted action built on the work already being ramped up to clamp down on the scourge of phone thefts, setting a “new standard” for how the Met Police will respond to the crime.

“We are seeing phone thefts on an industrial scale, fuelled by criminals making millions by being able to easily sell on stolen devices either here or abroad,” said Commander Owain Richards, who is leading the Met Police's response to phone thefts.

Also Read | February 5 Birthdays and Birth Anniversaries: Know About Famous People and Celebrities Born on February 5.

“By intensifying our efforts we're catching more perpetrators and protecting people from having their phone stolen in the capital. But we need help from partners and industry to do more.

“That is why we're working with other agencies and government to tackle the organised criminality driving this trade and calling on tech companies to make stolen phones unusable,” he said.

As part of the intensified efforts to tackle phone thefts, the police have increased patrols and plain-clothed operations in hotspot areas, including the West End and Westminster – where nearly 40 per cent of phone thefts occur.

At the same time, officers are also using phone-tracking data and intelligence to pursue those handling stolen devices.

The Met Police claims its measures are proving successful as last year four members of a gang were sentenced to a combined 18 years after handling more than 5,000 stolen phones.

They were tracked down by local Met officers after numerous victims reported their stolen phones being at the same location.

Kaya Comer-Schwartz, London's Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime, said the Mayor's office has been supporting the force with additional funding for neighbourhood policing.

“The Met is spearheading targeted police work to prevent and tackle mobile phone theft in our communities. Thanks to the hard work of officers and intervention work led by London's Violence Reduction Unit, personal robbery is down 13 per cent in the capital compared to the same period last year,” said Comer-Schwartz.

“But there is more to do. As the criminal demand for high-value mobile phones continues to grow globally, the Mayor [Sadiq Khan] and I are clear that companies must go further and faster to make it harder for stolen phones to be sold on, repurposed and re-used illegally,” she said.

The Mayor's office said it will continue to press leading mobile phone companies, Home Secretary Yvette Cooper and Met Police leaders to find “innovative solutions” to end the scourge of mobile phone-related crime.

Increased patrols in Westminster led to 17 arrests for robbery and theft, following 42 stops and searches. In Hackney and Haringey areas of London, officers made 15 arrests linked to the operation, including a 15-year-old boy on an illegal electric bike who was found with GBP 1,000 in cash and a large knife.

The Met Police is urging anyone who has lost or had a phone stolen to use the national mobile phone register so recovered handsets can be restored, via the Police National Mobile Property Register or NMPR.

Among other “simple steps” to further protect from fraud, the Met Police has advised smartphone users to ensure they have a strong password, two-factor authentication and turning off message previews so thieves cannot see any messages about reset or log-in codes when phones are locked. They should also write down and safely store the phone's IMEI number.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)