Birmingham: Dancing thief steals £9k Rolex with fancy footwork

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Abdelhadi Bahou-Jabour, 24, from Nottingham, was caught on CCTV using a peculiar dance in order to steal a £9,000 Rolex watch on July 10. Bahou-Jabour was caught on camera speaking to the couple before he then broke into a dance. Bahou-Jabour caught their attention and then proceeded to high-five the pair as they embraced around midnight on Colmore Row.

After striking up a conversation with the couple, he then proceeds to extend his leg before shimming next to the woman.

Bahou-Jabour then grabs the woman’s arm and removes her incredibly valuable watch.

Bahou-Jabour then continues talking to the pair before then attempting the same trick with the man.

He high-fives the man before attempting to slip the watch off, the Birmingham Mail reports.

Luckily for the man, the watch snags on his cuff causing the assailant to abandon his plan.

Bahou-Jabour then jogged towards St Phillip’s Cathedral where he encountered another woman.

He tries the same trick while chanting “It’s Coming Home”.

The victim resisted his approach before Bahou-Jabour grabs her arm and removes the £4,700 watch.

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Birmingham city centre officer PC Mat Evans spotted a clear image of the assailant on New Street on July 30.

Bahou-Jabour was arrested and charged with two robberies and an attempted robbery.

He will now be sentenced on October 6 at Birmingham Crown Court.

PC Evans, said: “This technique, where a criminal dances with their victim to distract them, has been referred to as the ‘Ronaldinho’ after the famous dancing footballer.

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“Normally pickpockets try to steal using stealth so you won’t even feel it.

“But this technique uses the opposite approach, using excessive contact to misdirect your attention away from the sensation of having your pockets emptied or, in this case, your watch stolen.

“This is not a skill you pick up overnight, it requires many hours of training and practice to perfect, and is very effective.

“I’ve seen the ‘Ronaldinho’ technique used before, but this offender’s particular dance moves were the most bizarre I’ve ever seen. Part Bruce Forsyth, part Artful Dodger.

“I would always advise people to be on their guard when on a night out, as professional pickpockets are just as active then as they are during the day.

“The best protection you can have is to recognise the signs of how pickpockets do what they do, get away from them, and raise the alarm.”

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