A Birmingham pickpocket has been jailed for a spate of dipping at the city's Bullring shopping venue.
Melania Urmuz, 52, of no fixed abode, admitted two offences of theft and fifteen offences of attempted theft when she appeared at Birmingham Magistrates' Court on Monday, 27th November 2023.
Urmuz targeted shoppers on the 18th, 24th and 25th November 2023, managing to steal two purses each containing £400.
She was arrested on 25th November, having returned to the TKMaxx store she had stolen from a few days earlier and being instantly recognised by staff.
Urmuz initially denied any wrongdoing, telling officers she had helpfully been trying to close shoppers' open bags. But a review of the store's CCTV footage showed the career criminal targeting five different customers in the seven minutes before officers arrived.
Urmuz was jailed for 40 weeks in June for similar offences. She had been released on licence only a few days prior to embarking on her latest stealing spree.
She has therefore been recalled to prison to serve the remaining 20 weeks' of her sentence, giving the good people of Birmingham some well deserved festive respite from her thievery.
PC Mat Evans, city centre neighbourhood policing officer, said: "This was a fantastic outcome as a result of a combination of brilliant observation skills from TK Maxx staff and a swift reaction from our pickpocket team. Urmuz is a prolific professional pickpocket and her being sent to jail will keep the people of Birmingham safe over Christmas and beyond.
"Getting her off the streets has certainly filled me with festive cheer. Over the last six months a dedicated team of officers across Birmingham have been coordinating their efforts to tackle pickpockets as part of Operation Willowvale.
"Their work has lead to the arrest of dozens of professional pickpockets, pushing detection rates up, and crime rates down. This recent arrest is just another example of their hard work."
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