Phone snatchers who stole more than 5,000 devices across London finally jailed

Four men astatine the centre of London’s phone snatching epidemic person been jailed for handling more than 5,000 stolen mobiles worthy much than £5 million.

Zakaria Senadjki, 31, Ahmed Abdelhakim Belhanafi, 25, Nazih Cheraitia, 34, and Riyadh Mamouni, 25, snatched the devices retired of the hands of walkers and tourists.

Many saw thousands of pounds stolen from their banking accounts, portion others had their wealth spent connected decorator clothes.

They adjacent took retired loans successful the names of immoderate of their victims.

The radical spent 18 months stealing phones, with galore of the devices being sold abroad, the Metropolitan Police said.

Officers were capable to bust the radical aft victims reported their phones were tracked online to the aforesaid 2 addresses.

They raised the properties successful February and recovered 170 phones believed to person been stolen.

Police judge thousands much were unfortunate to the group, but person been incapable to way down each of the victims.

Senadjki was sentenced to 8 years, Belhanafi was jailed for 4 years and 8 months, Cheraita was sentenced to 3 years and 5 months, portion Mamouni received 2 years and 8 months.

Commander Owain Richards, from the Metropolitan Police, said: ‘I privation to commend the borough based section officers progressive for their fantabulous enactment successful tracking down these individuals and ensuring they were brought to justice.

‘We bash not underestimate the interaction these crimes person connected Londoners and are doing each we tin to tackle telephone thefts. This includes accrued policing successful hotspot areas and making amended usage of technology.

‘However we request the telephone companies to play their portion and marque it much hard for criminals to re-sell these stolen devices. The Met volition beryllium speaking with them successful the coming weeks to propulsion this contented adjacent further.’

Some 78,000 radical had phones oregon bags stolen from them on British streets successful the twelvemonth to March 2024.

That is simply a emergence of much than 150% connected the 31,000 ‘snatch thefts’ in the 12 months before, according to information from the Crime Survey for England and Wales.

Figures besides amusement that 4 successful 5 constabulary investigations were closed earlier a fishy was adjacent recovered and conscionable 0.8% of ‘theft from the person’ complaints resulted successful a charge.

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