CCTV shows two conmen posing as drunken revellers to pick the pockets of partying students
- 3 years ago
Two brazen conmen have been jailed after posing as drunken revellers to pickpocket pub-goers by hugging and dancing with them on the street.
Abdul Boychaala, 30, and Hussen Ehab, 26, preyed mostly on sozzled students to steal their wallets and mobile phones.
CCTV shows the pair pretending to dance and hug unsuspecting late-night revellers as they walked through Nottingham city centre.
After locking legs and forcing them off balance the pair removed mobile phones from their victims’ pockets and sauntered away from the scene.
The victims only realised their valuables were missing after Boychaala and Ehab had disappeared.
Police discovered they had struck seven times in Nottingham between January 18 and February 1 last year.
Both men were arrested and admitted conspiracy to steal in relation to seven offences in Nottingham – two in the early hours of January 18, one on January 25, three on January 31 and one on February 1.
They also admitted targeting revellers in Liverpool on September 13 where victims had initially not reported the thefts.
Boychaala and Ehab, both of Radford, Nottingham, were both jailed for 28 months at Nottingham Crown Court on Friday (30/7).
Detective Constable Richard Evans, of Nottinghamshire Police, said: “Boychaala and Ehab are brazen and calculating thieves who were led by their own greed and recklessness to commit a string of very serious offences.
“Their preferred method may have appeared clumsy, but it was a finely-honed and effective distraction technique that allowed them to steal many thousands of pounds worth of mobile phones.
“This offending took place again and again as the pair grew in confidence – convinced that they would continue to get away with what they had been doing.
“By thoroughly reviewing this evidence against witness statements we were able to build such an overwhelming case against these two men that they had little choice but to plead guilty.”
Abdul Boychaala, 30, and Hussen Ehab, 26, preyed mostly on sozzled students to steal their wallets and mobile phones.
CCTV shows the pair pretending to dance and hug unsuspecting late-night revellers as they walked through Nottingham city centre.
After locking legs and forcing them off balance the pair removed mobile phones from their victims’ pockets and sauntered away from the scene.
The victims only realised their valuables were missing after Boychaala and Ehab had disappeared.
Police discovered they had struck seven times in Nottingham between January 18 and February 1 last year.
Both men were arrested and admitted conspiracy to steal in relation to seven offences in Nottingham – two in the early hours of January 18, one on January 25, three on January 31 and one on February 1.
They also admitted targeting revellers in Liverpool on September 13 where victims had initially not reported the thefts.
Boychaala and Ehab, both of Radford, Nottingham, were both jailed for 28 months at Nottingham Crown Court on Friday (30/7).
Detective Constable Richard Evans, of Nottinghamshire Police, said: “Boychaala and Ehab are brazen and calculating thieves who were led by their own greed and recklessness to commit a string of very serious offences.
“Their preferred method may have appeared clumsy, but it was a finely-honed and effective distraction technique that allowed them to steal many thousands of pounds worth of mobile phones.
“This offending took place again and again as the pair grew in confidence – convinced that they would continue to get away with what they had been doing.
“By thoroughly reviewing this evidence against witness statements we were able to build such an overwhelming case against these two men that they had little choice but to plead guilty.”