The latest pickpocketing incident from a Paceville nightclub has prompted nightclub managers to voice their frustration at the “unpoliced epidemic” plaguing the area.
“This has become a serious problem this summer. We are constantly receiving complaints and nothing has been done about it,” one club manager said when contacted.
CCTV footage showing the coordinated theft of a mobile phone from the handbag of an unsuspecting 23-year-old went viral on social media yesterday.
The footage shows a fair, young man moving seamlessly into the crowd of clubbers, targeting the handbag and making off with the woman’s phone.
In the video the pickpocket reaches into her bag in plain sight of the club’s CCTV cameras. He is seen taking the phone and running off with the victim in pursuit.
“I immediately noticed what was going on and went after him but he ran off. I was in high heels but he even outran the bouncers,” the young woman, who preferred not to be named, told Times of Malta.
The irate clubber suspected that the culprit was helped by two other “professionals” who created a distraction while he reached into her bag.
“I was there with my boyfriend just having fun and then I feel someone bump against my handbag and next thing I know my phone is gone,” she said, adding that the man did not appear foreign.
Police sources confirmed an investigation was under way but the police did not reply to further questions by the time of going to print.
The nightclub is situated along a pedestrian stairway in Paceville known for heavy foot traffic and recurrent bottlenecks.
The video prompted dozens of clubbers to voice similar experiences on social media yesterday.
Club managers said the area was prone to thefts and had become a popular hunting ground for groups of professional pickpockets.
“People squeeze into this part of Paceville. This summer I must have seen 100 girls crying their eyes out because of stolen iPhones and purses,” one manager said. “The authorities know about the situation. Paceville is littered with professional thieves and summer is the worst period,” he said.
Another club manager, who also runs an establishment along the narrow passageway, claimed the police had abandoned the area.
“The police all gather near Burger King and just stand there. All they seem to care about is giving people fines for smoking cigarettes and closing clubs,” he said.
Last month the police pledged to increase the number of officers patrolling the nightlife hub.
The irate manager explained that thieves were deterred by the presence of police who, however, were rarely on routine patrols.
“We need undercover police. They do it for cigarettes, why not for thieves? It’s a real epidemic.”
Last month a gang of professional pickpockets were arraigned in court for having conducted more than 250 thefts from unsuspecting tourists and clubbers.
The group of four Romanians had pleaded guilty and were jailed for 13 months.
A string of thefts earlier this summer prompted the US State Department and British Foreign Office to issue warnings about the area to holidaymakers.