Thursday, 10 September 2026

"Devious" North African Thief Used Old Distraction Trick To Nick £175K Suitcase

A professional Algerian thief, who targeted a female Eurostar passenger and took her suitcase containing £175,000 worth of valuables, has been jailed.

Bilal Arbaoui, 32, employed a well-used distraction method of an accomplice approaching the victim with a tissue, claiming her trousers were soiled.

As the woman wiped herself down he took her gold coloured hard-shelled suitcase, which contained designer bags, watches and jewellery.

At Inner London Crown Court Arbaoui, of Neasden Lane, Neasden received twenty-two months imprisonment after pleading guilty to theft.

On Saturday April 11, the victim arrived at St Pancras station on the Eurostar from Paris and had made her way to meet her pre ordered taxi. 

As she was looking for the cab she was approached by someone with a tissue who claimed her trousers were dirty.

As she wiped at the mark on her clothing, Arbaoui made off with her suitcase.

When she turned around the case was missing and she caught sight of Arbaoui running away with it. 

She flagged down an officer at the station and reported what had happened.

He was subsequently arrested by British Transport Police (BTP) officers and initially denied in was him in CCTV images of the theft shown to him in the police interview.

BTP Sergeant James Kingsberry said: “This was a devious and pre-planned distraction theft which caused the victim great distress.

We work tirelessly to prevent theft on the rail network and are lucky to work in an environment with exceptional CCTV coverage which helped us apprehend Arbaoui and put him before the courts.

Now behind bars, I hope Arbaoui realises that we have eyes everywhere and we’ll stop at nothing to bring thieves like him to justice.”

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