Time’s up on a dancing watch thief
A pickpocket who used dance moves to distract women as he slipped their watches off their wrists has been jailed, with police on Thursday joking that he had “enjoyed his last tango in Birmingham”.
Abdelhadi Bahou Jabour, who has been described as “part Bruce Forsyth, part Artful Dodger” was sentenced to two years and six months jail on Wednesday for offences committed in Birmingham city centre in July.
CCTV footage shown by the prosecution revealed the full extent of Jabour’s ruse, with the 24-year old seen displaying “nimble-footed” dance moves in close contact with one of his victims in order to distract her as he stole her belongings.
West Midlands Police said that in the first incident, Jabour began talking to a couple before “grinding up against the woman” and stealing her £9,000 Rolex. He reportedly also attempted to steal the man’s watch, but was unsuccessful.
Shortly afterward, Jabour spotted another woman on the grounds of a nearby cathedral and proceeded to steal her £4,700 watch.
In a statement reported by the BBC, PC Mat Evans said of Jabour’s tactics: “Normally pickpockets try to steal using stealth so you won’t even feel it.
“But this technique uses the opposite approach, using excessive contact to misdirect your attention away from the sensation of having your pockets emptied or, in this case, your watch stolen.”
Jabour was arrested in his hometown of Nottingham later in the month, and admitted two charges of robbery and one of attempted robbery during an earlier hearing at Birmingham Crown Court.
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