Moment bag thief is chased down and arrested by plain-clothed officers

On the evening of Thursday June 12, police officers spotted a man acting suspiciously at a pub on Cannon Street.

The officers followed the suspect, 26-year-old Emad Lechhed, to Martin Lane, where groups of people were standing outside a bar.

At around 9.30pm, Lechhed was seen loitering outside the bar, before he brazenly picked up a bag from the ground and walked off with it.

Officers saw the thief steal the bag and chased him until he dropped it.

Lechhed was caught and arrested on London Bridge, just five minutes after committing the offence.

Plain-clothed officers managed to return the bag to the owner before they even realised their belongings were missing.

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Lechhed, of no fixed abode, was sentenced to four months in jail and has been handed a Criminal Behaviour Order banning him from entering the City for two years.

Inspector Dan Green, of the Proactive Acquisitive Crime Team at the City of London Police, said: “The stolen bag, and the contents, was soon returned to the owner, before they knew it was stolen. The victim was full of praise for our officers when he got his bag back so quickly and we made an arrest.

“This is another fantastic result from our plain-clothed officers.

“Our warning to criminals; don’t come into the City to steal bags. If you do, you risk being spotted by our plain-clothed officers, who will track you down, arrest you and bring you to justice.”