Police have released footage of the moment a thief slipped a woman's Rolex watch off her hand while dancing in front of her and her partner.
West Midlands Police said Abdelhadi Bahou-Jabour had used a 'bizarre' distraction technique, sometimes referred to as the ‘Ronaldinho’, in his attempts to steal two luxury watches from the couple.
The CCTV footage shows Bahou-Jabour, who lives in Nottingham, approaching the pair on Colmore Row, Birmingham, at about midnight on July 10.
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After high-fiving the pair, the 24-year-old pulled out some dance moves, which officers described as 'Part Bruce Forsyth, part Artful Dodger'.
He then slips the £9,000 Rolex watch from the woman’s wrist, before trying a similar attempt to remove a watch from her partner.
His second attempt failed when the watch got caught on his victim's cuff, police said.
The CCTV then shows him jogging off into the grounds of St Phillip’s Cathedral, where he later stumbled across another woman also wearing a Rolex.
Police said Bahou-Jabour approached the woman singing “It’s Coming Home” before grabbing her and trying to take her watch off.
After she started to resist, Bahou Jabour twisted her arm before finally slipping the designer watch worth £4,700 off her arm, and running away.
Birmingham city centre officer Pc Mat Evans, who conducted CCTV inquiries spotted Bahou-Jabour during a plain clothes patrol in New Street on July 30, leading to the thief’s arrest.
Pc Evans said: “This technique, where a criminal dances with their victim to distract them, has been referred to as the ‘Ronaldinho’ after the famous dancing footballer.
“Normally pickpockets try to steal using stealth so you won’t even feel it. But this technique uses the opposite approach, using excessive contact to misdirect your attention away from the sensation of having your pockets emptied or, in this case, your watch stolen.
“This is not a skill you pick up overnight, it requires many hours of training and practice to perfect, and is very effective.
“I’ve seen the ‘Ronaldinho’ technique used before, but this offender’s particular dance moves were the most bizarre I’ve ever seen. Part Bruce Forsyth, part Artful Dodger."
He added: “I would always advise people to be on their guard when on a night out, as professional pickpockets are just as active then as they are during the day. The best protection you can have is to recognise the signs of how pickpockets do what they do, get away from them, and raise the alarm.”
Bahou Jabour admitted to two robberies and an attempted robbery at Birmingham Crown Court on Wednesday (September 1).
He is due to be sentenced on October 6.
