Phones for sale at a phone shop in north London, Sept. 25, 2025. Thieves can make up to £300 (about RM1,690) per device – more than triple the daily national minimum wage. — Andrew Testa/The New York Times
LONDON: Sirens screamed as police vans pulled into a north London street, and shocked passersby paused to watch as officers charged into three secondhand phone shops.
“Do you have a safe on your premises, sir?” one officer asked a shopkeeper, who was sitting next to his computer and a half-drunk cup of tea.
