PHONES are stolen in London at a rate of one every 7 1⁄2 minutes.
Figures show gangs and crooks took 70,137 mobiles last year — 192 a day.
That is up a third from the 52,000 nicked in 2023, Met Police statistics show.
Phone thefts are now a £50million underworld industry, with most flogged or disassembled for parts in China.
Home Office figures show 90 per cent of all “theft from a person” crimes in London go unsolved, with a crook charged in only one per cent of cases.
The unsolved figure is 86 per cent in England and Wales.
The Met is using tracking tech and putting plain-clothed officers in the West End and Westminster, where 40 per cent of all thefts occur.
The City of London force is deploying bike-mounted police.
Anna McEntee, at Compare the Market, said: “Londoners and those visiting the capital will be concerned by the substantial rise in phone thefts last year.
“Criminals are becoming increasingly brazen, often using mopeds or e-bikes to make a quick getaway.”
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