Nightclub managers blast thief ‘epidemic’

The latest pickpocketing incident from a Paceville nightclub has prompted nightclub managers to voice their frustration at the “unpoliced epidemic” plaguing the area. “This has become a serious problem this summer. We are constantly receiving complaints and nothing has been done about it,” one club manager said when contacted. CCTV footage showing the coordinated theft of a mobile phone from the handbag of an unsuspecting 23-year-old went viral on social media yesterday. The footage shows a fair, young man moving seamlessly into the crowd of clubbers, targeting the handbag and making off with the woman’s phone. In the video the pickpocket reaches into her bag in plain sight of the club’s CCTV cameras. He is seen taking the phone and running off with the victim in pursuit. “I immediately noticed what was going on and went after him but he ran off. I was in high heels but he even outran the bouncers,” the young woman, who preferred not to be named, told Times of Malta. The irate clubber suspected that the culprit was helped by two other “professionals” who created a distraction while he reached into her bag. “I was there with my boyfriend just having fun and then I feel someone bump...