近年來，英國正逐漸成為全球犯罪網絡運作的重要樞紐，尤其是在手機與汽車竊盜領域，其規模與組織化程度甚至可與合法跨國企業相比。這些犯罪團體不僅擁有明確的分工與完整的供應鏈，還有專門的中介與物流服務，形成一個高效率、低風險、全球化的非法產業鏈。

根據英國警方與媒體的數據，僅在倫敦地區，2024年約有七萬支手機被竊，換算下來幾乎每一百名市民就有一人受害。全英國的手機盜竊案佔整個歐洲的約四成，顯示問題的嚴重性。犯罪者的手法越來越專業化與高科技化——最常見的作案模式是竊賊騎乘電動自行車或電動滑板車，趁受害者不備時從背後搶奪未上鎖的手機。成功得手後，他們會立即將手機放入一種稱為「法拉第袋（Faraday bag）」的特殊防追蹤袋中，以隔絕信號並防止定位追蹤。

這些被竊的手機並不留在當地，而是經由有組織的走私網絡被迅速出口到其他國家，其中中國是主要的最終目的地之一。在那裡，手機會被拆解、刷機或重新包裝後再次販售，成為灰色市場中的熱門商品。這種跨國分工讓英國成為犯罪鏈條中的“上游供應國”，卻難以有效追蹤或阻止。

除手機外，汽車盜竊案也在英國迅速攀升。2024年全國約有十三萬輛汽車被偷，與十年前相比增加75%。犯罪者尤其偏好SUV車型，因為這類車輛在中東與非洲地區的崎嶇道路上更具實用價值。這些被竊車輛經過偽造文件與拆解處理後，通常被運往海灣地區或非洲銷售。隨著亞洲與非洲部分地區的中產階級快速崛起，對於昂貴商品的需求持續上升，間接刺激了這一黑色供應鏈的繁榮。

問題的另一個根源在於出口監管的缺失。英國及多數歐洲富裕國家對二手商品與零件出口的監控相當鬆散，犯罪分子得以輕易將贓物以合法貿易名義出口。保險制度也在無形中助長了這種現象——被竊者雖然可獲理賠，但最終成本會轉嫁到整體消費者身上，以更高的保費形式普遍分攤。這種「道德風險」使得各方都缺乏真正解決問題的動力，導致犯罪循環持續運作。

如今的英國，某種程度上可被形容為「全球犯罪企業的總部之一」。從倫敦街頭被搶的手機，到在伯明罕港口被偷運出的SUV，整個過程幾乎如同一條高效率的生產線。隨著科技進步、黑市需求旺盛以及監管漏洞持續存在，這種“現代化的偷竊產業”恐怕將在未來數年內進一步擴張，成為全球安全與貿易體系的新隱患。

In recent years the UK has increasingly become an important hub for organized transnational crime, especially in the theft of mobile phones and cars, with the scale and professionalism of these operations approaching that of legitimate multinational corporations. Criminal groups now have clear divisions of labor and complete supply chains, along with specialist intermediaries and logistics services, creating a highly efficient, low-risk, global illicit industry.

According to police and media reports, some 70,000 phones were stolen in London in 2024 alone—roughly one stolen device for every 100 residents. Across Europe, the UK accounted for about 40% of mobile-phone thefts, underscoring the severity of the problem. Thieves have adopted increasingly professional and tech-savvy tactics: a typical modus operandi is for offenders on e-bikes or e-scooters to ride up behind a victim and snatch an unlocked phone. Once they have the device, they immediately place it into a Faraday bag to block signals and prevent location tracking.

The stolen phones rarely stay local. They are funneled through organized smuggling networks and rapidly exported abroad, with China often cited as a major final destination. There the phones are stripped, reflashed, or repackaged and reintroduced into gray markets as sought-after merchandise. This cross-border division of labor makes the UK effectively an upstream supplier in a criminal value chain that is hard to trace or interrupt.

Car theft is rising just as sharply. In 2024 roughly 130,000 vehicles were stolen across the UK—an increase of about 75% compared with a decade earlier. SUVs are especially targeted because their robustness suits the poor road conditions found in parts of the Gulf and Africa. After theft, vehicles are commonly laundered through forged paperwork or dismantled and shipped, ultimately sold in those regions. As middle classes in parts of Asia and Africa grow wealthier, demand for high-value goods increases, which in turn feeds and sustains this black market supply chain.

A key enabling factor is weak export oversight. The UK and many wealthy countries exercise little control over exports of used goods and spare parts, allowing criminals to move stolen items under the cover of legitimate trade. Moral hazard further complicates the picture: insurance payouts mean victims are often compensated, but the costs are socialized through higher premiums paid by all consumers. That diffusion of cost reduces incentives for any single actor to tackle the root causes, allowing the cycle of theft and resale to persist.

To a certain extent, Britain can now be described as one of the headquarters for a global criminal enterprise: from phones snatched on London streets to SUVs loaded at ports like Birmingham for shipment abroad, the process often resembles a high-efficiency production line. With advancing technology, robust demand in foreign markets, and persistent regulatory gaps, this modernized theft industry is likely to expand further in the coming years and emerge as a growing threat to global security and trade integrity.