A ‘pickpocket’ from Walworth who had been in the UK for just two weeks before he was caught by British Transport Police has been jailed for six months.
Daniel Maldonado Paulson, 35, a Chilean national who was living on Alvey Street in Walworth, was sentenced to six months in prison at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on 13 February.
Police said he had arrived in the UK just two weeks earlier.
A week earlier, on February 6, officers had spotted Maldonado Paulson, 35, scouring the Piccadilly line for potential victims.
Plain-clothed officers swept in at South Kensington station after they spotted him displaying ‘behaviour typical of a professional pickpocket’.
After being stopped on the platform, Maldonado Paulson tried to flee up the escalator and was subsequently handcuffed and arrested.
He was found with a mobile phone which had been reported stolen just 20 minutes earlier and an electronic card reader, the first British Transport Police case of a pickpocket carrying such a device.
The mobile phone was returned to the victim just two hours after Maldonado Paulson took it.
BTP Detective Constable Alison Levi said: “While professional pickpockets might have their eyes on potential victims, rest assured we have our eyes trained on them, waiting for them to make a move and ready to step in.”
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“We have expert, highly skilled officers with years of experience operating across the network, with eyes everywhere. They are always watching and ready to swoop just like in the case of Maldonado Paulson.
“If you spot someone acting suspiciously as you travel, please report it to us by texting 61016.”
