The Feiyang Times building, known locally as the “stolen iPhone building,” has become a key hub in a global supply chain that moves devices from Western streets to China’s tech markets and beyond.
On the fourth floor of the Feiyang Times building in Shenzhen’s Huaqiangbei district, traders haggle over iPhones laid out in cramped glass booths. Many are second-hand devices from Europe and the U.S., but not all arrive through legal channels. Some were snatched off the streets in cities like London and New York before making their way into China’s vast grey-market tech trade.
Phones stolen in the West are swiftly trafficked through Hong Kong, often entering mainland China via Shenzhen. Once inside Feiyang and surrounding malls in the Huaqiangbei district, they’re sold whole or dismantled for parts. Some are legitimate trade-ins, but many devices are locked, SIM-restricted, or ID-tagged, traceable to theft victims overseas.
From Western Cities to Shenzhen Stalls
The process begins with a typical theft scenario. Sam Amrani, a London tech entrepreneur, had his iPhone 15 Pro stolen in a direct theft. In a week, tracking records indicated the phone was shifted from a repair center in London to Kowloon, Hong Kong, and eventually to Shenzhen. Stories like his are fairly routine in the area. The victims often report online, and their recovered devices trace back to the same location.
Traders in Shenzhen’s Huaqiangbei markets openly advertise iPhones of all models—some with activation locks, others stripped for parts. Sellers concede that foreign devices probably contain stolen units, though few reveal their point of origin. Resale-seeking consumers from Pakistan, Libya, and throughout the Global South buy these phones, frequently opting for locked or SIM-banned versions in order to save money and import tariffs.
Even locked phones hold some worth. In Shenzhen’s dense tech ecosystem, every component—screens, chips, plastics—can be resold. Devices that cannot be unlocked are disassembled, and their parts are being sold piece by piece later.
Hong Kong: The Gateway for Grey Market Phones
Hong Kong is a crucial place since its a free port with minimal customs oversight, it provides a legal grey zone where second-hand wholesalers gather. One industrial building in Kwun Tong houses dozens of merchants selling iPhones labeled “Has ID” or “No ID”—a shorthand for whether the devices are activation locked. Buyers browse boxes of bubble-wrapped phones and place bids via apps like WhatsApp.
Once the purchase has been made, the devices are taken to Shenzhen in hand luggage or through smuggling networks. Traders say it’s impossible for locked phones to be traced, but some victims of theft have said they’ve been contacted by people in China, asking them to switch off tracking capabilities.
According to the Financial Times, this transnational market thrives on efficiency, minimal regulation, and strong demand. Each seized iPhone holds either a small profit margin in pieces or a complete device if unlocked. Regardless of international policing efforts, the trade keeps going, driven by theft, loopholes, and the sheer size of China’s second-hand technology economy.