Trio who stole luggage worth over £600,000 jailed – London

Three men involved in high-value luggage thefts at St Pancras and King’s Cross railway stations have been jailed, following a British Transport Police (BTP) investigation.

Faysal Benoumechiara, 27, and of Bellot Street in Greenwich, was sentenced at Inner London Crown Court today (19 June) to two years and three months having previously pleaded guilty to five counts of Theft that took place over an 11-month period.

Abdel Aitkebir, 35, and Medhi Fatih, 41, both of no fixed address, were sentenced at the same court.

Fatih was jailed for two years and four months while Aitkebir was sentenced to two years and six months having both pleaded guilty to one count of Theft each.

The court heard how on 16 October 2025, at around 11pm, a family had just arrived at St Pancras International railway station having travelled on the Eurostar and moved to get in a taxi at the taxi rank.

As the luggage was being loaded into the car, the driver was distracted by a man and Airkebir grabbed two suitcases from behind the car and ran off. The cases had items inside worth over £600,000.

Before and during the theft, Fatih and Aitkebir could be seen on CCTV scouting out the area and taking advantage of the distracted driver to make off with the cases. Photos were later seen on Fatih's phone of some of the jewellery stolen that day.

The court also heard how on five different occasions Benoumechiara stole luggage from on board trains or from the backs of cars.

The first took place on 8 December 2024, when Benoumechiara boarded a train at King’s Cross heading towards Peterborough and stole a suitcase from the luggage rack with items worth over £60,000 inside.

Then, on Monday 26 May 2025, on a train from Morpeth to King’s Cross, Benoumechiara stole a bag from the overhead luggage rack when its owner had momentarily left her seat.

On 16 August 2025, Benoumechiara unloaded luggage worth over £6,000 from the back of a car while the driver had got out to help someone who claimed there was an issue with their car.

Less than a week later, on Thursday 21 August, Benoumechiara again stole a suitcase with contents worth around £15,000 from a passenger at St Pancras after he worked with others to distract him.

A few months later, on 4 November, BTP officers in plain clothes noticed a man acting suspiciously by the entrance of King’s Cross station. The man approached three other men who quickly opened a backpack and pulled its contents out frantically

Officers quickly approached the group and the three on the bench were arrested. These men were Samy Legouini (32), Mohamed Koulai (33), and Amine Bennari (25), and all three pleaded guilty to theft at Highbury Corner Magistrates' Court on 6 November, just two days after the offence. They were later sentenced to nine months' imprisonment at Inner London Crown Court on 25 February 2026.

The fourth man, Benoumechiara, was recognised by an officer from CCTV of the previous offences and he was also arrested on suspicion of theft. The bag the group had just stolen was returned to its rightful owner, with the victim’s laptop and phone found in Legouini's bag.

Fatih and Aitkebir, who were both at the station on the day, were also arrested for their part in the high-value distraction theft from the family outside St Pancras station on 16 October.

A seventh man, Yacine Chenite, 38, was also arrested that same day with Fatih and Aitkebir after officers recognised him and linked him to an attempted theft at St Pancras railway station on 12 October.

Chenite had attempted to steal a suitcase from the boot of a car that had just been loaded, but was unable to get the suitcase out of the boot and had to flee. He pleaded guilty to one count of Attempted Theft and was also sentenced to nine months' imprisonment at Inner London Crown Court on 25 February 2026.

Detective Constable Nicholas Barr said: "These men worked together in an organised fashion to target everyday commuters and steal their valuables, and their string of crimes caused so many victims huge amounts of stress and anxiety. 

"Thanks to the keen eyes and awareness of our officers at King’s Cross in November last year, the group were caught red-handed. Our officers patrol the rail network every day in plain clothes to react to anything suspicious and stop offenders like these men in their tracks.

"If you see someone acting suspiciously in stations or on trains, or if you've been the victim or witness to a theft, I urge you to report it to us by texting 61016. We take every report seriously, and just as we have in this case we’ll do everything in our power to bring thieves to justice.”