Phone theft warning as gang spree hits Leeds city centre

MOBILE phone thieves are preying on unwitting shoppers and revellers in Leeds city centre in record numbers.
Phone thieves are preying on Leeds shoppers in record numbersPhone thieves are preying on Leeds shoppers in record numbers
Phone thieves are preying on Leeds shoppers in record numbers

New figures show there were 450 such incidents in the three months from December to February – a rate of about five a day.

BACIL (Business Against Crime in Leeds), which represents more than 300 businesses in the city, said the statistics had spiked significantly in recent months.

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Mobile phones now account for more than 70 per cent of all items stolen from people in the city.

BACIL co-ordinator Sean Walker said: “We want to encourage people to be more careful with their phones.

“You wouldn’t stand in a crowded venue waving your wallet in the air, but to potential thieves a mobile phone is every bit as valuable.”

Police in Leeds have admitted they face a major problem with organised gangs targeting people on nights out as part of an international trade in stolen mobile phones.

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There has been a 43 per cent rise in such incidents in the last two years.

Chief Supt Paul Money, commander of City and Holbeck division, said significant resources were being focused on the problem.

He said: “On weekend nights, when the city centre is busiest, we have extra officers in uniform and in plain clothes working closely with door staff and licensees to target the thieves in hot spot areas.

“We have been briefing street marshals and door staff with photos of those we suspect of being involved in the theft of phones and these people are being denied entry to premises.

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“We also have officers carrying out disruption visits to people we suspect are involved. They are being warned in no uncertain terms that we are watching them closely.

“We are also doing a lot of work to tell people how they can protect their property.”

In one recent case a thief was jailed for 14 months after being convicted of 15 offences.

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