police swarm oxford street to arrest ‘pickpocket gang’ in front of tourists

A gang of suspected pickpockets have been arrested in central London in front of shocked tourists. 

Officers descended on Oxford Street to catch three women suspected of reaching into pedestrians’ bags and snatching their belongings.

Footage shows one woman handcuffed with multiple police around,while another lies on the ground having an apparent seizure.

Elena Venkova,33,Malinka Georgieva,20,and Elena Mitkova,26,were all arrested and charged with theft.

They were due to appear in Westminster Magistrates’ Court yesterday.

Paul Brown,who captured the footage,told Metro: ‘There was a sudden commotion which caught everyone’s attention.

‘A group of police officers rushed towards three women near the entrance of Selfridges,and within moments,it became clear they were being arrested for suspected pickpocketing.

One of the suspected pickpocketers is arrested (Picture: paulbrown_uk)

Another is handcuffed and led into a police van (Picture: paulbrown_uk)

To get the latest news from the capital visit Metro's London news hub.

‘It all happened fast,but it left quite an impression—especially with how quickly the police responded.’

The arrests come as the rate of theft in London soars by more than 700% in the capital from three years ago.

One of the women lays on the ground,appearing to have some form of seizure (Picture: Paulbrown_uk)

London areas with the highest rate of pickpocketing:

Westminster – 133.21 per 1,000 residentsCamden – 31.41 per 1,000 residentsSouthwark – 19.03 per 1,000 residentsKensington and Chelsea – 18.86 per 1,000 residentsHackney – 14.67 per 1,000 residentsIslington – 12.8 per 1,000 residentsLambeth – 10.87 per 1,000 residentsNewham – 10.65 per 1,000 residentsTower Hamlets – 9.23 per 1,000 residentsHaringey – 9.04 per 1,000 residentsThe Metropolitan Police said: ‘At 17:45hrs on Wednesday,27 August plain-clothed officers on patrol on Oxford Street arrested three women on suspicion of theft.‘Elena Venkova,was arrested and charged with theft on Thursday,28 August.‘Elena Mitkova,was arrested and charged with theft and possession of criminal property on Thursday,28 August.‘Malinka Georgieva,28 August.’