Heart-stopping second police catch machete-wielding cellphone thief who had stolen 9 mobiles
This is the dramatic moment police caught a phone thief with a machete on him in Central London.
Officers witnessed the phone snatched on CCTV, after which they followed the suspect and were able to find him.
Footage released by the Met Police shows the officer shouting at the suspect to ‘come back’ as members of the public watched.
As they were arresting the man, at Piccadilly Circus, officers saw an object and asked ‘Is that a blade?’ which turned out only to be tin foil.
Following this they asked the suspect ‘You got a knife on you?’ and the footage then shows them recovering a machete.
In the post shared on the force’s X page, the Met said: ‘After witnessing a phone snatch on CCTV, officers were able to follow the perpetrator and connect him to a further three snatches.
‘Watch how their quick thinking led to the recovery of nine mobile phones, a machete and a man in custody.’
This is the dramatic moment police caught a phone thief with a machete on him in Central London
Officers witnessed the phone snatched on CCTV, after which they followed the suspect and were able to find him
It comes after another video released by the force shows the moment police officers tackled a thief just seconds after he attempted to steal from an unwitting tourist one one of the busiest streets in the capital.
It shows the man following the unsuspecting tourist and attempting to take a mobile phone from his pocket.
Two plain clothes officers then swoop in and take down the thief, catching him red handed.
He was arrested and has now been jailed for 11 months after pleading guilty to theft at Isleworth Crown Court on Wednesday, November 7.
The video was taken near Oxford Circus on Friday, August 30, after officers noticed a man acting suspiciously and paying attention to people’s pockets and belongings.
He was then seen reaching towards the victim and stealing his mobile phone.
Sofian Hadar, 23, of Cricklewood Broadway, was arrested and the phone was returned to its owner, a heart surgeon on holiday from Egypt.
He was then seen reaching towards the victim and stealing his mobile phone.
The victim, a heart surgeon on holiday from Egypt, is seen crossing a busy road in a crowd.
Hassan is pictured following closely behind the victim, as they leave a pedestrian crossing
Plain clothes officers tackle Hassan after he is seen trying to steal a phone. Pictured is the officer knelt to the ground after taking down Hassan, who is out of the picture
The Met previously said it has seen a wave of crime related to phone snatches in the capital.
In the first half of this year officers have recovered more than 750 stolen phones.
Detective Superintendent Saj Hussain, who leads on phone robbery and theft in the Met, said: ‘Thanks to these observant and fast-acting officers another mobile phone thief has been taken off the streets of London.
‘We understand the impact robbery can have on victims and we also recognise that there is still much more to do to tackle the problem as we make London safer.
‘Met officers are targeting resources in hotspot areas with increased patrols and plain clothes officers – and this result makes clear this approach is having a positive impact.
‘We encourage people to report as soon as they can whenever they have been the victim of a robbery or theft so officers can attend the scene and investigate swiftly.’
In London, where the epidemic shows no signs of abating, criminals circle the capital’s exclusive areas on silent e-bikes, before pouncing on victims before they have time to realise what has happened.
Muggers are typically captured seizing devices around the exclusive Mayfair area and along Oxford Street.
In July, an incident within the Hyde Park hotspot was captured on CCTV footage when an e-bike riding crook in all black crept up behind an unsuspecting man and swiped his phone.
In another incident in September, a brazen phone snatcher stole a woman’s mobile in the middle of the day on Oxford Street before calmly taking off.
As previously reported a bike-riding phone thief got deserved punishment after a diner hurled a cafe chair at the criminal as he attempted to flee.
A thief received instant karma after a chair was hurled at him after he grabbed a phone from a woman
The thief had just snatched a phone out of a woman’s hands before he attempted to speed past two diners enjoying breakfast outside a cafe in the city of Resistencia, Chaco in north eastern Argentina.
But one of the diners, having witnessed the theft, got up and threw a chair at the criminal he tried to get away.
Footage shows the cyclist sent flying, smashing into a cafe worker before crashing on the pavement after the being hit by the chair
After hitting the floor, the staff member wearing a white apron is seen running over to the thief before kicking him in the bottom.
