Mastermind behind £181m phone handling operation was Afghan asylum seeker

An Afghan asylum seeker was the mastermind behind a crime ring which shipped £181m worth of stolen phones out of the country, a court heard. Amir Khadikhel, 35, together with compatriot Ismat Miakhel, 33 and Indian Mansoor Mohammed, 30, admitted receiving tens of thousands of handsets stolen by phone snatchers across the UK. The mobiles were sent to the Middle East and the Far East where some would fetch as much as £3,700 each. Khadikhel masterminded the smuggling operation transporting…