Officers chase down bag thief

Plain-clothed officers chased down a bag thief and managed to return a bag to the owner before they even realised their belongings were missing.

On the evening of Thursday 12 June, Proactive Acquisitive Crime Team officers spotted a man acting suspiciously at a pub on Cannon Street.

Officers followed the suspect, 26-year-old Emad Lechhed, to Martin Lane, where groups of people were standing outside a licensed premise.

At around 9:30pm, Lechhed was seen loitering outside the bar, before going on to pick up a bag from the ground and walking off with it.

Officers saw him steal the bag and immediately sprang into action, running after the thief. The suspect dropped the bag during the chase.

Lechhed was caught and arrested on London Bridge, just five minutes of committing the offence.

Inspector Dan Green, of the Proactive Acquisitive Crime Team at the City of London Police, said:

“The stolen bag, and the contents, was soon returned to the owner, before they knew it was stolen. The victim was full of praise for our officers when he got his bag back so quickly and we made an arrest.

“This is another fantastic result from our plain-clothed officers.

“Our warning to criminals; don’t come into the City to steal bags. If you do, you risk being spotted by our plain-clothed officers, who will track you down, arrest you and bring you to justice.”

Lechhed, of no fixed abode, was sentenced to four months in jail and has been handed a Criminal Behaviour Order banning him from entering the City for two years.

The Proactive Acquisitive Crime Team focuses on crimes such as theft of bags, phone snatches and shoplifting.

The dedicated team is successfully bringing criminals, who prey on those out in the City, to justice and proactive arrests are disrupting those involved in serious organised crime.