The Metropolitan Police has carried out a major crackdown on e-bike and moped-enabled phone thieves across central London, arresting 187 people and seizing 157 vehicles between February and July. The operation targeted prolific offenders in Westminster and other crime hotspots, combining plain-clothes and uniformed patrols with specialist officers who used tracking data from stolen phones to pursue suspects, including through pedestrianised areas. The Met said the initiative led to a 22 per cent fall in e-bike-related crime in areas such as Lambeth, Southwark, Waterloo and London Bridge.

Beyond phone theft, the operation also resulted in arrests for weapons and drug offences. Notable cases included a 17-year-old found with a knife after a moped pursuit, a 22-year-old charged with robbery and assaulting an officer after allegedly striking a police officer with his e-bike, and stolen phones found wrapped in tin foil to block tracking signals. The Met has also seized more than 2,500 illegal e-bikes and e-scooters so far this year and expanded its fleet of high-powered Sur-Ron bikes used to pursue suspects.