This is the incredible moment a thief uses his foot to steal a bag from under the nose of its owner in a packed Barcelona square.
The crook mingled among other tourists before wandering up to a bar terrace table where three friends were chatting.
In a deft move that went completely unnoticed by passers-by around him, he used his left foot to drag the bag a couple of feet along the ground away from the chair where it had been left and waited motionless to see if the owner or anyone else had clocked what was happening.
Seconds later when he was confident his trick had paid off and a holidaymaker near him had taken a photo on her mobile and moved on, he stooped down to pick it up, placed it in another larger holdall he was carrying and calmly walked away.
The crafty thief appeared to be making a phone call as he left the scene, possibly to contact an accomplice so he could hand over the stolen items to him and minimise the chances of being stopped by police with the items he had taken.
The shocking crime happened in the Sant Josep Oriol Square in the Catalan capital, which has gained a reputation for being one of Europe’s pickpocket and mugging capitals.
It is a small pedestrian square that is located next to the Basilica of Santa Maria del Pi, a 15th-century Gothic church, and is described online as a ‘very touristy square’.
The Barcelona thief used his left foot to drag the bag a couple of feet along the ground away from the chair where it had been left
The shocking crime happened in the Sant Josep Oriol Square in the Catalan capital, which has gained a reputation for being one of Europe’s pickpocket and mugging capitals
After he was confident his trick had paid off, the thief stooped down to pick up the bag, placed it in another larger holdall he was carrying and calmly walked away
Footage of the theft appeared to show the offender, dressed in a T-shirt, trainers and shorts, had used the same trick before because of his calmness in executing it.
Police sources said today it was normal for criminals like him to disguise themselves as tourists to try to go unnoticed.
There have not yet been any reports of an arrest following the offence. The nationalities of the friends who were sitting having a drink when they were targeted are not clear.
Tourists thronging sightseeing hotspots in Barcelona are increasingly taking extreme measures to protect themselves from being preyed upon by muggers and pickpockets operating in the Spanish city.
A few years ago, the city was so ravaged by pickpockets that local police handed out survival kits – containing clothes and a Metro ticket – to tourists whose belongings were stolen from the beach while they were swimming.
A picture of the scene of the crime, the Placa de Sant Josep Oriol in the Gothic quarter of Barcelona
To avoid falling victim to pickpockets, some tourists are now taking extreme measures, like tying their handbags to their legs while sitting in restaurants and leaving all jewellery in the hotel safe.
Meanwhile locals urge tourists to simply keep their valuables out of sight, not to take shortcuts in quieter side alleys – the perfect place for thieves to target people undeterred – and to stay away from the metro at peak times when most pickpockets are operating.
Last month a Barcelona thief had the misfortune to run into two Jiu-Jitsu black belts after stealing a gold chain from a tourist.
He faced instant karma when brothers Gabriel and Gustavo Galindo took the suspect down after they heard the victim yelling he had been robbed and saw a man fleeing the scene.
Brazilian athlete Gabriel put him in a martial arts ‘lion killer’ chokehold until police arrived ten minutes later and took him away to applause from locals and other holidaymakers.
At one point the ballsy siblings, who were touring Europe on a family holiday, had to protect the thief from punches and kicks he was receiving from angry onlookers as he lay incapacitated on the ground and they made sure he wasn’t going anywhere.
Gustavo, who calls himself Guga online, posted footage of the spectacular take-down and lion killer chokehold on his Instagram under the jokey headline: ‘Enjoying ourselves in Barcelona.’
Gabriel Galindo poses for the camera after he and his brother helped arrest a thief who stole a chain from a Portuguese tourist in Barcelona last month
Barcelona cops arrested a suspect who snatched a chain from a Portuguese tourist last month
It showed his brother wasn’t even breaking into a sweat – and at one point managed a thumbs-up and a smile as he sat on his exhausted-looking rival with his arm locked around his neck between attempts to swat off furious locals who took advantage of the situation to punch and kick the thief.
Gabriel also posted images of his Good Samaritan deed on his social media.
In May footage emerged of a thief in Barcelona facing instant karma after being tackled and put in a similar chokehold by a tourist whose camera he believed he had tried to steal.
Footage showed the suspected criminal wailing and moaning as the holidaymaker held him across the neck.
Last year Sir Ben Ainslie revealed he was robbed of his £16,000 Rolex at knifepoint by a Barcelona watch gang.
