Moment 'devious' thief takes off with luggage containing £175,000 worth of items after telling woman her trousers were dirty as she stood outside London train station

A 'devious' Algerian migrant who stole a suitcase containing jewellery worth up to £100,000 by telling the victim her trousers were dirty has been jailed. Bilal Arbaoui, 32, tailed Jumama Zaida out of St Pancras station in April after she arrived on the Eurostar from Paris and told her: 'You have poo on you.'He then grabbed Ms Zaida's gold Rimowa case, which can cost upwards of £1,000, after his accomplice offered her a tissue.Assisted by an Arabic interpreter, Arbaoui appeared at Inner London Crown Court and was jailed for 22 months after he plead guilty to theft on Monday.Arbaoui, of Neasden, northwest London, has two previous convictions for similar bag thefts since he arrived in the UK in 2024.Samantha Archer, prosecuting, said: 'Ms Zaida had three wheeled suitcases, one black, one green and one small gold Rimowa suitcase.'She was followed out of the station onto the street by Arbaoui and two other individuals. All three followed the victim out of the station onto St Pancras Road where she was waiting for an Uber.'Describing CCTV footage of the crime, Ms Archer continued: 'She can then be seen walking down the road wheeling her luggage. One male came up to the victim and said "you have poo on you".' A 'devious' Algerian migrant who stole a suitcase containing jewellery worth up to £100,000 by telling the victim her trousers were dirty has been jailed Bilal Arbaoui, 32, tailed Jumama Zaida out of St Pancras station in April after she arrived on the Eurostar from Paris and told her: 'You have poo on you' He then grabbed Ms Zaida's gold Rimowa case, which can cost upwards of £1,000, after his accomplice offered her a tissueHe held out a tissue to Ms Zaida which she took, causing her to let go of her gold suitcase.'Mr Arbaoui took the gold suitcase,' Ms Archer said. 'He made off with [it] in haste, and he appears concerned or sheepish.'A nearby bus driver, who speaks Arabic, overheard Arbaoui and two other suspects shouting, saying to one another 'come on quick, come on'.'The victim was assisted by members of the public and flagged down a police officer,' Ms Archer said.Arbaoui was arrested and initially answered no comment in police interviews, before claiming he had been mistakenly identified.Ms Archer said the suitcase has not been recovered but contained 'many high value items' including Van Cleef & Arpels jewellery.The prosecutor indicated the total value could have been up to £100,000.Defending, Sabrina Felix said: 'This defendant was born in Algeria and has been in the UK for approximately one and a half years.'He doesn't have any legitimate status in the UK at this time, so he has no means of generating an income, and no right to public funds.'When he is able to work he earns money in the construction industry cash in hand.'She said Arbaoui sends the cash home to Algeria because 'he has a younger sister who is autistic and has significant mobility difficulties'. Arbaoui was sentenced to 22 months in prison and ordered to pay a victim surchargeJudge David Richards told the migrant: '[The victim] had three wheelie cases that she was clearly struggling to cope with, holding the handle of one large case in one hand, the handle of a medium case and of the smallest of the three cases in the other.'You were also at St Pancras that day, working with two colleagues as a team looking for someone to steal from.'I have no doubt whatsoever that the fact of the Eurostar terminal being there presented you and your colleagues with the hope of rich pickings from arrivals to this country unfamiliar with the layout and perhaps not concentrating as they might otherwise be.'Whilst one of you distracted her and by a ruse got her to take her hand off that smaller bag you swept in and removed it before she could do a thing.'This was a confident planned and proficient theft operation.'One thing I haven't heard is what happened to her property, her cherished jewelry and bags. I have no doubt you know exactly where that went, I have equally no doubt that you won't say.'Arbaoui was sentenced to 22 months in prison and ordered to pay a victim surcharge.He served a 12-week sentence last year for similar offences carried out on December 19, 2024 and January 18, 2025, which the judge said exhibited 'exactly the same method of working as you demonstrated here'.The judge said that immigration authorities might be in touch with him after his sentence is up as he does not 'have any legitimate status in this country'.A British Transport Police spokesperson said: 'This was a devious and pre-planned distraction theft which caused the victim great distress.'We work tirelessly to prevent theft on the rail network and are lucky to work in an environment with exceptional CCTV coverage which helped us apprehend Arbaoui and put him before the courts.'Now behind bars, I hope Arbaoui realises that we have eyes everywhere and we’ll stop at nothing to bring thieves like him to justice.'