FIVE pickpockets who stole from an elderly man at Westminster Tube Station were jailed for a total of 20 months after they were caught in the act.
Plain clothes officers patrolling the station spotted five people paying very close attention to passengers' bags.
The group repeatedly wandered in and out of the ticket hall before focusing their attention on an elderly man, who was queueing at a food stall just outside the station.
At City of Westminster Magistrates' Court last Wednesday, four of the group - Iosif Lacatus, 41, Iuliu Vagra, 31, Angela Panaitescu, 39, Mioara Korozsi, 31, all of Buckland Road, Leyton - were each handed four-month prison sentences for their role in the theft.
Constantin Rezmive, 33, of Frith Road, Leyton, was also jailed for four months.
Panaitescu stood nearby as a lookout, while Rezmives, Lacatus and Korozsi stood close to the victim and blocked him from moving while Vagra removed his wallet from his trouser pocket.
Officers then arrested all five on suspicion of theft.
Sergeant Steve Bryan, of British Transport Police, said: "Our plain clothes theft squads frequently patrol the Tube looking out for any kind of suspicious behaviour.
"This sentencing should send a clear message to would-be thieves that we are out there arresting those who think they have the right to help themselves to other people's property."
