They followed the sound to an electronics shop
British YouTuber Miles Routledge, better known as “Lord Miles”, boarded a flight to Pakistan to recover a pair of stolen AirPods.
What began as a theft in Dubai turned into an international search, a viral story, and an unexpected flight to Jhelum.
Nearly a year earlier, while staying at a Dubai hotel, Routledge noticed his AirPods Pro had gone missing.
He immediately activated Lost Mode using Apple’s ‘Find My’ app, enabling ping alerts and a tone each time the device came online.
For months, there was silence until the earbuds finally resurfaced in Jhelum.
Apple Maps showed them active near Defence Road, just metres from a restaurant called “2nd Wife.”
Routledge posted the coordinates on X, vowing to fly to Pakistan the following week to retrieve them “on principle”.
He also shared the device’s serial number with the Jhelum police, who responded swiftly.
District Police Officer Tariq Aziz Sandhu assigned a team to the case.
Officers canvassed the neighbourhood, playing the Apple locator tone in short bursts.
They followed the sound to an electronics shop, then to a nearby house.
There, a local man produced the AirPods and a receipt. He had purchased them secondhand in Dubai and was unaware they were stolen.
Under Pakistani law, police can return stolen property if the buyer proves they obtained it without knowing it was illicit.
No criminal charges were filed, but the AirPods were recovered and returned.
Routledge flew into Islamabad and drove to Jhelum, where he signed a property return form at police headquarters.
He posed for photos holding the AirPods box and thanked police for their professionalism.
Later, officers even treated him to lunch at “2nd Wife”, the same restaurant that had appeared on the Apple tracker.
While the airfare alone could have bought several new pairs, Routledge insisted the effort was worth it.
He said recovering the stolen device and “beating a thief” brought him personal satisfaction and plenty of content for his YouTube channel.
He also joked that Pakistani police outperformed the Scottish Police, referencing slow response times back home.
Social media lit up with praise for the Jhelum police.
Meanwhile, Miles Routledge’s controversial remarks, calling Indian people “thieves and corrupt”, stirred backlash.
The British YouTuber’s AirPods story has since gone viral, doubling as an Apple tech showcase and an unexpected cross-border saga.
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