Three men sentenced for stealing luggage worth over £600,000
Faysal Benoumechiara, 27, of Bellot Street in Greenwich, was sentenced to two years and three months. Abdel Aitkebir, 35, was sentenced to two years and six months, and Medhi Fatih, 41, was jailed for two years and four months. All three were sentenced at Inner London Crown Court on Friday, June 19, after pleading guilty to stealing two suitcases from a family as they distracted the driver. The suitcases contained items worth over £600,000.
How the theft unfolded at St Pancras
The men were caught on CCTV scouting the area before the family arrived at St Pancras International Railway station at around 11pm on October 16, 2025. As the family waited at a taxi rank and their luggage was being loaded into the car, the driver was distracted by one man, and Aitkebir grabbed two suitcases from behind the car and ran off. Photos of some of the stolen jewellery were later found on Fatih's phone.
Benoumechiara's history of theft
The court was told that Benoumechiara had stolen luggage on five separate occasions. In December 2024, he boarded a train at King's Cross and stole a suitcase from the luggage rack containing items worth over £60,000. In May 2025, he stole another bag from a luggage rack after its owner left her seat. On August 16, 2025, he unloaded luggage worth over £6,000 from the back of a car while the driver was distracted by a staged car issue. Less than a week later, on August 21, 2025, he stole a suitcase containing contents worth around £15,000 from a passenger at St Pancras after working with others to distract him.
Police praise and public appeal
Detective Constable Nicholas Barr said: "These men worked together in an organised fashion to target everyday commuters and steal their valuables, and their string of crimes caused so many victims huge amounts of stress and anxiety. Thanks to the keen eyes and awareness of our officers at King’s Cross in November last year, the group were caught red-handed. Our officers patrol the rail network every day in plain clothes to react to anything suspicious and stop offenders like these men in their tracks." Barr urged the public to report suspicious activity by texting 61016.
