Two prolific bag thieves jailed after targeting City pubgoers, £2,450 in valuables

Two prolific bag thieves who stole £2,450 worth of laptops and phones from pubgoers in the City of London during after-work drinks have been jailed. Daniel Ramzi, 26, and Abderrahim Mamma, 29, carried out a string of thefts at pubs and restaurants across the City, making off with £1,950 of valuables in just one day.

The duo were captured on CCTV on January 15 at the Golden Goose in Leadenhall Market, leaning over a barrier to grab a man's backpack, pulling out a £500 laptop and transferring it into their own bag, before returning the victim's bag to the cobbled street and making a swift exit. That same day, Ramzi and Mamma also pinched a £650 mobile phone from a victim's coat pocket at Five Guys in Bishopsgate and swiped an £800 laptop from a man's bag at the Cross Keys pub on Gracechurch Street. Less than a week later, on January 21, they targeted patrons at the Lord Aberconway on Old Broad Street, performing another bag swap and leaving with a £500 haul.

Ramzi and Mamma, both of no fixed abode, pleaded guilty to four counts of theft each. Mamma, who also admitted seven further theft offences outside the City, was sentenced at Inner London Crown Court to 20 months in prison and given a Criminal Behaviour Order banning him from entering the City for five years. Ramzi was sentenced at Southwark Crown Court to 14 months in prison. Sergeant James Wood, of the Proactive Acquisitive Crime Team at the City of London Police, said: 'This is another great result in seeing two prolific bag thieves behind bars. We hope that these sentences will give reassurance to businesses and members of the public that we take such offences very seriously. Our warning to criminals; don't come into the City to steal bags. We will bring those committing crimes in the City to justice and we will use all of our resources to help prevent and deter any further criminal activities.'