Thief who stole luggage containing £175,000 worth of items jailed – London

A “devious” thief who masterminded a well-rehearsed high value theft has been jailed following a British Transport Police (BTP) investigation.

Bilal Arbaoui, aged 32, an Algerian national of Neasden Lane, North West London, pleaded guilty to Theft and was sentenced to one year and 10 months in prison at Inner London Crown Court on Monday 3 August.

The court heard how, on Saturday 11 April, the victim had arrived at St Pancras station on the Eurostar from Paris and had made her way outside the station to meet her pre ordered taxi. As she was looking for the cab she was approached by someone with a tissue who claimed her trousers were dirty.

As she wiped at the mark on her clothing, Arbaoui made off with her gold hard-shelled suitcase containing £175,000 worth of high value items including designer bags, watches and jewellery.

When she turned around, she saw the case was missing and caught sight of Arbaoui running away with it. She flagged down an officer at the station and reported what had happened.

He was subsequently arrested by BTP officers and despite eventually pleading guilty, he initially denied in was him in CCTV images of the theft shown to him in police interview.

BTP Sergeant James Kingsberry said: “This was a devious and pre-planned distraction theft which caused the victim great distress.

“We work tirelessly to prevent theft on the rail network and are lucky to work in an environment with exceptional CCTV coverage which helped us apprehend Arbaoui and put him before the courts.

“Now behind bars, I hope Arbaoui realises that we have eyes everywhere and we’ll stop at nothing to bring thieves like him to justice.

"Anyone who experiences or witnesses a theft on the railway is urged to report it to our officers on the network or by texting 61016."