Overview
- Police published pub CCTV showing one of two men reach across a table and grab a phone while the owner was distracted, after which both men left before the loss was noticed.
- Detective Constable Stacie Cottrell called the theft opportunistic and urged pub and bar patrons to keep phones and wallets on their person at all times.
- The two suspects are described as wearing flat caps, with the man who reached for the phone seen in a grey puffer coat, and the force asks anyone with information to call 101 quoting reference 652699 or contact Crimestoppers.
- City of London Police have not reported any arrests linked to this specific incident since releasing the footage and are seeking public help to identify the men.
- Coverage places the release alongside wider London policing activity that has targeted phone thieves, led to mass arrests and recovered stolen phones using tactics such as removing devices wrapped in foil to defeat tracking.