Inside the global trade in stolen iPhones: How devices snatched in London end up on sale in China

In a bustling, nondescript tower in Shenzhen’s Huaqiangbei electronics district, rows of vendors under flickering lights haggle over boxes of iPhones. Some devices are used, some refurbished, and many locked with passcodes from distant owners—people like Sam Amrani, a Londoner whose iPhone 15 Pro was snatched by a pair of thieves on e-bikes. Within a week, he tracked its signal all the way to Kowloon, Hong Kong, and finally to Shenzhen in China—9,650 kilometres from where it was taken, the Financial Times reported.

The Feiyang Times building, where Amrani’s phone ended up, has become infamous online as China’s so-called “stolen iPhone building.” It sits at the heart of a sprawling and shadowy global trade in second-hand devices. Legitimate trade-ins mix with iPhones stolen from city streets in London, Paris, and New York, fuelling a vibrant aftermarket in one of the world’s largest electronics bazaars.

The path from theft to resale

According to Apple user forums, police warnings, and tracking data from theft victims, stolen iPhones often move quickly through a tightly organised pipeline. The phones typically pass through repair shops or collection points in cities like London before making their way to wholesalers in Hong Kong’s free trade zones. From there, they cross into mainland China—especially into Shenzhen’s Huaqiangbei market.

Inside Feiyang, sellers hawk iPhones to buyers from around the world: traders from Pakistan seek US SIM-locked models for resale; Libyan dealers stock up on the iPhone 13 Pro Max, and countless parts sellers buy up unsellable, locked devices to strip for components like screens, chips, or even copper wiring.

“Have a look around,” one vendor told the Financial Times. “There are all kinds [of phones].”

Locked but still valuable

Even if a stolen iPhone is locked via Apple’s Find My system, it’s far from worthless. Vendors admit that while locked phones can’t be reused as-is, the parts are valuable. “If they have a passcode, there’s no way of selling it,” one trader on Feiyang’s second floor said. “But we buy the parts.”

In some cases, traders or middlemen contact phone owners via iMessage or social media, urging them to unlock or wipe their devices—sometimes even threatening them. If owners comply, the phones become resalable. If not, they’re reduced to parts and sold piecemeal.

Kevin Li, a trader who buys locked phones in Hong Kong and sells parts in Shenzhen, put it plainly: “The ID ones were probably stolen or snatched in the US. They are sold to Hong Kong and then on to other countries including the Middle East.”

Hong Kong’s role as a gateway

Hong Kong’s lack of import and export taxes makes it a central node in the trade. At 1 Hung To Road, an industrial tower in Kwun Tong, dozens of wholesalers sort iPhones into boxes labelled “Has ID” and “No ID.” Buyers from China, the Philippines, Turkey, and beyond inspect phones, ask about their lock status and condition, and place bids via WhatsApp auctions.

Traders often hand-carry small batches of phones across the border, while large shipments rely on “specialised logistics companies” or more covert methods like hiding phones in cross-border cars or working with smugglers, as some ads on Chinese social media suggest.

A market hiding in plain sight

While most vendors deny knowledge of their iPhones’ origins, insiders acknowledge that many locked devices are stolen. Yet demand remains high. Overseas models attract buyers because they offer global app store access and are cheaper, especially SIM-locked U.S. phones, which are often exempt from import duties in countries like Pakistan.

Authorities in Hong Kong and China have yet to crack down in a meaningful way. The Shenzhen government and building managers at Feiyang declined to comment, while Hong Kong police said they would act “according to actual circumstances.”

For now, the global pipeline of stolen phones keeps flowing. Every lost device has a value—even if only as scrap. And in Shenzhen, demand never runs out.

“In Shenzhen, there is demand . . . it’s a massive market,” said Li, flicking away a cigarette as a new batch of bubble-wrapped iPhones arrived for auction.