Moment undercover cops catch phone thief less than a minute after he snatched handset in central London

14 May 2025, 18:38

Undercover police arrested a phone thief in less than a minute after he stole a handset in central London.

Footage posted to a Metropolitan Police social media page shows police pursing the criminal who committed the offence near to London Bridge on Tuesday.

He was seen grabbing the phone near Hays Galleria, with the victim attempted to chase after the robber and his stolen mobile.

An unmarked police car caught sight of the incident as it passed, making a swift u-turn as it sped after sprinting thief.

The owner got their phone back, police added.

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Footage of the incident shows the unmarked vehicle blocking the thief’s escape, as members of the force jump out of the car to apprehend the suspect.

A spokesperson for Met Police said: “A phone thief snatched a mobile near London Bridge… just up the road from an unmarked police car.

“He got arrested in under 60 seconds and the owner got their phone back.”

There were over 70,000 recorded phone thefts in London last year - that’s about 192 phones stolen every single day. One every eight minutes.

Writing for LBC Opinion, Johnny Jenkins wrote: "Earlier this week, I watched two tourists race up to a parked police car in bustling Chinatown after their phones had been snatched. They were shaken, breathless, desperate. The officers? Calm. No blue lights, no sirens and no urgency.

"What’s happening across London isn’t some after-dark crime wave. These thefts are taking place in daylight, on crowded streets, and on the very public transport we rely on to get around safely.The methods are becoming more targeted, more aggressive, and more shameless.

"Thieves on scooters are mounting pavements in broad daylight. Gangs are using distraction techniques in cafés, shops, and stations. On the Tube, phones are snatched just as the doors are closing - the perfect getaway.This isn’t random opportunism - it’s organised and it’s lucrative.

"Stolen phones often end up overseas, sold on the black market for profit. There’s a supply chain behind it. A market. A system that’s quietly booming while most of us just hope we’re not next."

Read the full piece here

In February, Home Secretary Yvette Cooper told LBC she is looking at "speeding up warrants" and "strengthening powers" to police to get them to storm properties to nick back stolen phones.

It came after an exclusive LBC investigation revealed victims often complain they hand GPS and location data of where their stolen phones end up over to police - only to be told they’re unable to act quickly enough to search the property, allowing the offenders time to escape.

Ms Cooper told LBC's Nick Ferrari: "There's been a big increase in mobile phone theft.

"This has been driven by organised crime and we need much stronger action.“We need policing and tech companies working hand in hand so we get stronger action to design out the risk that phones will be sent and sold on - to go after organised crime."

She told Nick tech companies need to design features where phones are switched off the moment they are reported stolen.“We need tech companies to do much more to make sure there is not an incentive to steal phones.

“This is organised crime driving this.“We need a drop in phone thefts and a strong partnership between police and tech.”“I want the police to be able to take much stronger action - speeding up the warrants and action and I am also looking at what stronger powers we can give police.”

“I want the police to be able to take swift action to go after organised criminals.”