Moment brazen thief steals pub-goer's phone in 'plain sight' in the City

This is the moment a brazen thief swipes a punter's mobile phone in plain sight as the man enjoys drinks with friends in a London City pub.Two men, both wearing flat caps, are seen chatting with one another before one, wearing a grey puffer coat, turns to the large group sitting behind them.Then, one of the shameless yobs quickly nabs the phone lying just inches away from its owner as he appears engaged in conversation with others at the table.Following the incident, which transpired in a matter of seconds, the two men quickly got up and left the establishment before the phone owner had a chance to notice.City of London has since urged people to keep their goods close to them and to never leave them unattended following the unabashed theft.It comes after the Metropolitan Police carried out its 'largest ever crackdown' on Sadiq Khan's London, arresting more than 700 people and seizing hundreds of stolen phones.More than 50 warrants were carried out across the capital as officers swooped in to recover the stolen items, with footage showing police pursuing a suspected phone thief into a pond.When they waded into the body of water, they managed to fish out six phones wrapped in foil - a tactic used by thieves to block signals and hinder tracking. Two men, both wearing flat caps, can be seen chatting with one another before one, wearing a grey puffer coat, turns to the large group sitting behind them One shameless yob quickly nabs the phone lying just inches away from its owner as he appears engaged in conversation with others at the tableThe Met also targeted second-hand phone shops suspected of handling stolen devices.Last week, a brave Deliveroo driver chased a Lime Bike thief who had nabbed a phone from a Brazilian tourist - the latest victim of the phone-snatching epidemic.Milo Sterlini rushed after the phone thief on his motorbike during a routine delivery shift at around 8pm in Borough, central London, on November 1.The content creator, who shared the footage on his YouTube channel, London Eats, ordered the thief to drop the phone.But he brazenly responded: 'Nah bro I've gotta make money.'Fearing for his safety, the food delivery driver decided to stop chasing the thief because 'nine times out of ten, they are carrying a knife'.It comes as thefts from a person, which includes snatching of property and pickpocketing, fell from 103,900 in 2024/25 to 81,300 in London this year.However, the number of crimes recorded by police across the country has soared past seven million a year for the first time.Official figures showed an eight per cent jump in recorded crime in the year to June, hitting 7,084,375 incidents in England and Wales.It was the first time the total surpassed seven million since modern crime recording practices began at the turn of the century, data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed.The surge was largely down to a massive 41 per cent leap in reported fraud, to 1.8million offences.The increase corresponded with the launch of a new service, Report Fraud, in December last year, which allows the public to log cyber crime or fraud with City of London Police, which has national responsibilities in relation to financial crime.The total included a 79 per cent increase to 1.02million in the number of frauds reported to the new service by the banking and financial services body UK Finance.The surge indicates just how poorly fraud was being recorded under the previous system, Action Fraud, which was repeatedly criticised as ‘not fit for purpose’ by MPs, leading it to be dubbed ‘Inaction Fraud’.Detective Constable Stacie Cottrell at the City of London Police said: 'This was an opportunistic theft carried out in plain sight. The offenders deliberately targeted a group enjoying themselves in a pub, knowing that a moment's distraction was all they needed to steal someone's mobile phone.'We would also urge anyone socialising in pubs, bars or restaurants to keep their valuables close by and never leave phones or wallets unattended. We are releasing this footage as we believe someone may recognise these men and help us identify them.'Anyone with information has been urged to contact City of London Police on 101 quoting 652699. Alternatively, those who wish to anonymously report can do so through the independent charity Crimestoppers by calling 0800 555 111.