LONDON – A 63-year-old Chilean man flew into the United Kingdom with the sole intention of stealing tourists’ cash and luggage, lifting items including bags, cameras and purses.
Launching a £30,000 crime spree between August and September 2015 and March and August this year, Emilio Guerrero-Sepulveda snatched loot including bags, cameras and purses during at least two trips to London.
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In one theft alone he took £8,800 of items after snatching a camera bag from a man eating with a friend and their children in Selfridges department store in July, the Mirror Online reports.
He also stole an 84-year-old woman’s purse from her mobility scooter while she was shopping.
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On another occasion he stole an 84-year-old London woman’s handbag, containing £160 cash, from her mobility scooter while she was shopping at a supermarket in Uxbridge.
In other instances, he stole bags containing as much as £5,000 worth of goods including designer clothes, jewellery and electronics from victims at Heathrow.
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He was arrested while attempting to board a flight to Santiago de Chile, last month.
Police seized £1,000 in cash which they hope to return to his victims.
The crook has now been jailed for three years and eight months for 11 counts of theft, after CCTV stills showed Sepulveda stealing the bag of a man shopping at Monica Vinader jewellers in Mayfair on Friday, 16 June.
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Isleworth Crown Court also heard he had previous convictions for theft in the U.S. and France.
