LONDON -- A man with 38 mobile phones stuffed down his trousers was arrested outside a Libertines gig in Birmingham on Wednesday night.
The 30-year-old man, along with another man of the same age, had their trousers taped closed at the bottom of their legs. Marius Buzura and Emanuel Paraschiv, both of London, have been charged with conspiracy to steal, police said.
2 Males arrested last night by @BrumTheftTeam from a concert in Birmingham - one with 38 phones in taped trousers! pic.twitter.com/tTYiWANX2z— Insp Gareth Morris (@InspGMorris) January 28, 2016
The arrests were part of a proactive operation by Birmingham Police, who had received information that gig-goers had been targeted by pickpockets in Manchester on an earlier night in the tour.
“It’s an unfortunately reality that large crowds at concerts such as this make rich pickings for career criminals," Inspector Gareth Morris said.
“If you think you had your phone taken last night, please get in touch with us and we can check whether or not we have been able to recover it.”
The band tweeted the good news about the recovery of the phones.
IMPORTANT: Good news for 38 of you who lost your phones at the show in Birmingham last night... https://t.co/gqrUrIAcru— Libertines (@libertines) January 28, 2016
And Libertines fans who said they got their phones back thanked the police for their efforts.
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Police urge people to register details on mobile phones and other valuables at Immobilise, the UK National Property Register, to help police return stolen items. Anyone with information on the thefts in Birmingham can call police on 101 or the independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.