Articles by Editor,Sam Lawley

Technology

Moment phone thief is snared by undercover cops as over 140 people are arrested in West End crackdown on shoplifting and thefts at tourist spots

Have YOU got a story? Email Sam.Lawley@dailymail.co.uk By SAM LAWLEY, NEWS REPORTER Published: 12:51 GMT, 10 November 2025 | Updated: 12:51 GMT, 10 November 2025 This is the moment a phone thief was snared by undercover police as more than 140 people were arrested in London's West End in just seven days as cops cracked down on shoplifting and phone thefts at tourist hotspots. Around 100 extra Metropolitan Police officers were deployed to tackle some of the most common offences blighting the capital as part of Operation Baselife. Two thieves trying to swipe phones from women at a Leicester Square ice rink were stopped on November 4 after plain-clothes officers searched the men and found several stolen devices on them, with one returned to its owner. And video footage released by the Met shows the pair being arrested following a campaign of phone-snatching. Standing in a busy street dressed in padded jackets, the duo are stopped by officers, one of whom says: 'It looks like you've made multiple attempts to try to nick phones from people.' They then discover a mobile as they place handcuffs on the alleged thieves and ask: 'Is it your phone? Whose phone is it then?' 'I don't know,' one replies. The officer adds, 'Where did you get them from?', to which the arrested man responds: 'I found them...here...after I heard someone calling it.' This is the moment a phone thief was snared by undercover police as more than 140 people were arrested in London's West End in just seven days Metropolitan Police officers pictured on patrol during a crackdown on phone thefts and shoplifting. Around 100 extra officers were deployed to tackle the most common offences They then pour the collection of phones into a bag and lead the pair away from the packed scene. The following day, covert officers arrested a man for an upskirting offence after he was caught standing behind two women and filming their buttocks as they queued for the toilet in a Soho cafe. Finally a crackdown on West End's brazen shoplifters: Moment thief caught stealing £9k of clothes After seizing the his phone, officers discovered a significant number of similar videos taken around London. Superintendent Natasha Evans, who led the operation, said: 'This operation shows that targeting prolific offenders in crime hotspots works. 'Our intelligence-led approach means we're solving twice as many shoplifting cases and taking hundreds of offenders off the streets. 'Through this intensified action, we are continuing to ensure the West End remains a safe and welcoming place for residents, businesses and the millions of visitors who come here each month. 'We're doubling down before Christmas, as the West End enters one of its busiest periods. Local officers, specialist teams and tech such as Live Facial Recognition will focus on the areas with the most crime to keep driving numbers down. 'Our officers continue to tackle crimes that matter most to Londoners through highly visible, intelligence-led policing that builds trust in our communities.' Prolific board game thief Omar Innis, 32, was spotted by West End district coppers carrying a large number of board games and toys on July 25 A stash of iPhones can be seen in the footwell of the back seat of a car in July, which was pulled over by police on a nearby street In Covent Garden a rampant clothes thief was arrested in June after spending two months stealing £9,000 worth of high-end clothes Between April 1 and October 29, officers reported a 22.3 per cent reduction in knife crime in the West End and a 23.7 per cent fall in theft from a person. But the shoplifting crisis seems to have reached boiling point with the Met forced to take desperate measures to stem the flow of crime. It was reported in July that the number of officers policing the district will increase by more than 50 per cent following a spate of brazen thefts. Since the pandemic, the Russia-Ukraine conflict and soaring inflation, theft has soared in the UK, recently hitting the highest level ever seen. Shoplifting has become an increasing nightmare for high street shops, with only a tiny minority of offenders ever charged, as 530,643 offences were recorded in England and Wales in the year to March 2025 - the highest figure since records begun and up from 444,022 in the previous year. The crisis is most acute in London, where the capital has recorded a shocking 50 per cent boom in shoplifting, up from 53,202 in 2023 to 80,041 last year. Norman Brennan, a former police detective in London, said earlier this year that terrified shop staff had been left helpless to prevent crooks from brazenly ransacking their businesses. The 65-year-old - who spent 31 years as a cop and was once stabbed in the chest by an armed burglar - said crippling cuts to policing, which have seen thousands of officers lost in recent years, had left forces stretched too thinly. Problems reached a peak in August 2023 when West End stores were forced to lower their shutters and lock customers inside after large groups of mainly young men and teenagers responded to a call on TikTok to join an 'Oxford Circus JD robbery'. Share or comment on this article: Moment phone thief is snared by undercover cops as over 140 people are arrested in West End crackdown on shoplifting and thefts at tourist spots Add comment