Appeal following serial smartphone thefts at railway stations (From Croydon Guardian)

Appeal following serial smartphone thefts at Croydon railway stations

5:29pm Thursday 7th February 2013 in News

Police want help in identifying two men they want to speak to in relation to a series of phone thefts.

British Transport Police detectives are linking three similar incidents where mobile phones were stolen from passengers at two Croydon rail stations in the space of nine days.

Detective Sergeant Bob Stokoe, investigating the thefts, wants to speak to the two men pictured and anyone who knows them.

At Selhurst rail station on Monday January 21, a 21-year-old woman had her iPhone 4S worth £400 snatched from her lap at around 5pm. The thief then ran from the train and left the station.

Two days later, at Thornton Heath station, a man grabbed a white iPhone 4S, from the hand of a 37-year-old woman as she was getting off a train at 5.15pm.

At the same station another theft took place on Wednesday January 30 at about 7.45pm.

A 30-year-old woman from Croydon was sitting in the rear carriage of a train when it was pulling into Thornton Heath station. A man approached her, grabbed her white iPhone 4S and ran off.

DS Stokoe said: “We have followed several lines of enquiry and circulated these images on police intelligence systems to identify these men.

“Now we are calling on members of the public to help identify them. If you know who either of these men are, we want to hear from you.”

He added: “These were frightening and intimidating thefts for the victims and we are determined to find those responsible.

“The two images released today show two men at Thornton Heath station on Wednesday, 30 January, the day of the third offence. We urge them or anyone who knows them to get in touch.

“It is a sad fact of life that smartphones are a popular target for thieves and people can sometimes display these without thinking about it.

“Fortunately, there are lots of things people can do to make sure their mobiles are safe.”

Anyone with any information should contact British Transport Police 0800 40 50 40 quoting reference B10/LSA of 07/02/13. Or call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.