In a brazen act of theft carried out in plain sight, a laptop was stolen from a pubgoer’s bag while the victim stood mere feet away enjoying a drink with friends.
CCTV captures audacious operation
City of London Police have released footage showing the moment two professional criminals, Majazy Latif, 28, and Youcef Aliouat, 32, calmly rifled through patrons’ belongings for seven minutes at a Cannon Street pub on 14 August 2025. The video was instrumental in their subsequent prosecution.
The pair’s modus operandi was notably audacious. To mask their criminal intent from both their victims and other drinkers, they strategically placed a chair in front of the pile of bags they were targeting. This simple prop created a visual barrier, allowing them to rummage undisturbed. During the recorded incident, they were seen removing a laptop from one bag and placing it into a different holdall held by Latif.
Police Constable Pradip Gurung of the City of London Police described the pair as “professional criminals” who “took their time when preying on other people’s belongings.”
Series of thefts leads to lengthy sentences
The Cannon Street theft was part of a wider spree. Majazy Latif pleaded guilty to nine counts of theft between 6 August and 25 September 2025, stealing approximately £14,250 worth of personal belongings, including laptops, from licensed premises across the City. He was jailed for 23 months.
Youcef Aliouat was sentenced to 18 months in prison for stealing nine laptops between 14 August and 6 October 2025. Both men, of no fixed abode, were also handed Criminal Behaviour Orders (CBOs) banning them from entering the City of London, also known as the Square Mile, for five years.
The court heard that Latif was also captured on CCTV with a different accomplice, Mounir Ghilas, stealing a laptop from a pub on Aldgate on 6 August 2025. Ghilas was jailed last year for 18 months after pleading guilty to 18 counts of theft.
Sentencing for theft in the UK, governed by the Theft Act 1968, has no fixed minimum and can vary based on the value of goods and the offender’s history. For items valued over £200, the maximum sentence can be up to seven years’ imprisonment if the case is heard in the Crown Court.
Part of a wider trend in the Square Mile
The case highlights an ongoing issue of bag and laptop theft in City pubs. In a separate incident on 11 November 2025, Hecham Bourhar and Mohammed Kraifa were sentenced to 18 weeks in prison for stealing a bag containing a laptop and other items valued at £2,000 from a pub on New Street.
More recently, on 19 March 2026, Mohamed Hade was jailed for three months for theft after a “bag swap” on Farringdon Street, where he left a pub with a different bag containing a laptop worth £1,700.
Police note that pubs are a common location for such crimes. Larger venues with entrances distant from the bar, and those lacking sufficient security even on busy nights, can be particularly vulnerable. While these thefts have historically shown seasonal peaks, recent trends indicate the problem persists year-round.
Sergeant James Wood of the City of London Police Proactive Acquisitive Crime Team stated that “professional criminals will seize any opportunity to take your belongings,” highlighting the force’s use of proactive operations and its extensive CCTV network to combat the issue. London has one of the highest densities of CCTV cameras in the world, a tool shown to have a statistically significant effect on reducing property crime.
Authorities advise the public to remain vigilant, keep belongings close and secure, and report any suspicious activity immediately.
