Thursday, November 10, 2005

Mobility of smuggling 1

An article in the New Zealand Herald titled 'Stolen UK mobiles resold in 46 countries' says:

"Mobile phones stolen in Britain are being resold in more than 40 countries in a trade worth millions, a police investigation has discovered.

A study of more than 1000 mobiles stolen in Britain revealed they ended up in at least 46 different countries, including Iraq, Peru, Australia, Dubai, China and Jamaica.

Gangs use a network of second-hand shops and criminals to collect tens of thousands of mobiles stolen in street muggings and house break-ins, which are then taken abroad and sold.

Handsets are relatively cheap in Britain, with expensive call charges, whereas abroad they are unsubsidised by the phone companies and can cost hundreds of pounds."

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