A pair of thieves snatching bags from Londoners drinking at cafes have had their spree foiled by police.
Hernan Montero-Villegas, 54, and Miguel Angel Contreras-Nova, 39, have been jailed for a combined 32 months after British Transport Police monitored their tactics at railway stations on CCTV.
The pair first targeted a 54-year-old woman who was drinking a cup of tea in Liverpool Street station’s Soho Coffee café on February 25.
Montero-Villegas dragged her rucksack away with his foot before hiding it behind his bag and leaving with both.
The victim’s rucksack contained €100, £40, her driving licence, bank cards and a phone charger.
On March 22, Montero-Villegas and Contreras-Nova stole a 50-year-old woman’s bag from the Starbucks inside London Waterloo station as she sat with her colleagues.
Contreras-Nova was seen pretending to be on the phone while Montero-Villegas again used his foot to whip the bag, containing £200, away from the victim.
The pairs final offence occurred on March 28 in London St Pancras’ Paul Express café when Montero-Villegas and Contreras-Nova again combined to swipe a 50-year-old man’s satchel.
It contained two Eurostar tickets, a film script, earphones, a phone charger and his passport.
Just two days later, on 30 March, a BTP officer patrolling London Bridge station spotted the pair and arrested them in connection to the bag thefts.
They were further arrested at police custody for money laundering for being in possession of more than £3,000.
PC Steve Bryan said: “Montero-Villegas and Contreras-Nova are clearly experienced bag snatchers who have refined their tactics to avoid being detected by the unsuspecting victims they target.
“What they failed to realise is that the railway is a CCTV-rich environment and here at BTP we are relentless in our pursuit of thieves. We won’t stop until they’re put before the courts.
“I hope the adequately long prison terms handed down to them provides the three victims with the comfort of justice being served.”
Montero-Villegas and Contreras-Nova, both of no fixed addresses, pleaded guilty to multiple counts of theft and one count of money laundering.
They both attended Inner London Crown Court on Thursday where a judge sentenced Montero-Villegas to 18 months imprisonment and Contreras-Nova to 14 months.
